Al-Sisi Arrests Political Rival – Former Islamist – after Unflattering Interview

Abdel Moneim Abol Fotouh is described as a “former Islamist” who heads the Strong Egypt party. But it was only when Abol Fotouh went to London and gave interviews critical of President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi that he was arrested and placed on the terrorism list. Observers in Egypt contend that Abol Fotouh was detained upon his return to Egypt because he represented a force opposing the president’s re-election. His is also accused of having secret meetings with Muslim Brotherhood representatives while in the UK. As elections slated for March 26-27 draw near, Sisi is running without competition because all those who were willing to run against him were either arrested or otherwise scared off the ballot by intimidation from the Sisi machine. In the United States, rights activists were upset that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson visited Egypt and President Al-Sisi no indication anything was said about his increasingly dismal human rights record.