Egypt’s strategy to combat these groups has primarily relied on a security crackdown – specifically on the Muslim Brotherhood – and large-scale military operations against IS in North Sinai. At the same time, the state has set about ‘renewing religio...

In any case, the wave of arrests over the past weeks shows that the regime of Al-Sisi is planning to follow the path it has chosen since his takeover in 2013: Crushing opposition and gradually closing any space for public dissent.

Shawkan has become a symbol of the oppression of journalists in Egypt. He received the 2018 UNESCO/Guillero Cano Press Freedom Prize on 2 May 2018. However, Shawkan’s nomination for the award sparked an angry reaction from Egypt.

In September 2017, Nubian activists staged a protest in Aswan. Police dispersed them and several dozen were arrested. The activists are charged with illegal protesting, disrupting the peace, chanting against the state and harming public interests, and...

In today’s Egypt, anybody can go to prison. Young men risk arrest if a member of their family has a past affiliation with an outlawed movement. The number of incarcerations will continue to rise as long as criticism against the state is considered an a...

There is no doubt that this operation is not the same as the ones launched in the past. The Egyptian army announced that it aims to achieve four objectives: tightening control over border posts, eliminating terrorist outposts, immunizing local populations...

The regime maintains that the elections are genuine. Through the many banners – there are a few for Moussa as well – and rallies, it wants to push the narrative that the elections are an actual race and that al-Sisi has near-unconditional support fro...

The EU’s efforts to reach an agreement with Egypt suggest an anticipated rise in migration attempts, especially as the deal with Libya has made migration via that country harder. Such an agreement could limit the number of boat departures and will likely i...