Ruth Michaelson: Egyptian forces fire teargas on anti-government protesters
Hundreds of Egyptians
took to the streets in Cairo and other cities in rare protests against the
country’s president, Abdel Fatah
al-Sisi, responding to an online call for a demonstration against
government corruption. Videos shared on
social media showed protesters in central Cairo as well as the port cities of
Alexandria and Suez, demanding that Sisi leave office. Protests also occurred
in the towns of Damietta, Damanhur and Mahalla.
Demonstrations are all
but illegal in Egypt after a broad crackdown on dissent under Sisi, who seized
power following the overthrow of former president Mohamed Morsi in
2013. Sisi’s rule has been
marked by the repression of political opposition, civil society and any
perceived criticism. Those taking to the streets risked arrest as well as the
lingering threat of force by the Egyptian authorities.
Security forces moved
to disperse the small and scattered crowds in Cairo late on Friday using
teargas but many young people stayed on the streets in the centre of the
capital. At least 55 people
were arrested on
the charge of demonstrating without permission, according to one local media
outlet citing Egypt’s ministry of the interior. The Cairo-based Egyptian Centre
for Economic and Social Rights recorded at
least 56 arrests in Cairo and outside of the capital. The number of those
arrested is expected to rise....
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/sep/21/egyptians-shout-leave-sisi-in-rare-protests-against-president