Population Wants Stability
An Egyptian court has sentenced 183 supporters of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood to death on charges of killing police officers. The men were convicted of involvement in the killings of 16 policemen in August, 2013, following the army’s ouster of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi.
Since Morsi took office a year and a half ago, his security forces have arrested more than 40,000 people and hundreds of Muslim Brotherhood supporters have been sentenced to death. Michele Dunne, an Egypt expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, says that none of the death sentences have been carried out. She also said that religious authorities must approve executions and they have often reversed the decree.
The court’s decision was part of an ongoing crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood and jihadist groups after at least 30 Egyptians, mostly policemen, were killed in northern Sinai by Ansar Beit Al-Maqdas, a group that last year swore allegiance to Islamic State and has been responsible fore several well-coordinated attacks in Sinai that have killed dozens of policemen.
The attacks have presented a major challenge to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Egypt’s Defense Minister – turned President, who remains popular despite the measures against the Muslim Brotherhood.
“Sisi is planning to play a major role in the crackdown on the terror belt that extends form Afghanistan to West Africa,” Hisham Kassem, an Egyptian journalist and analyst told The Media Line. “If there is somebody right now who is capable of doing this, it’s Sisi. In spite of tough decisions he’s taken, his popularity remains quite high.”
Sisi has been criticized by human rights groups for draconian measures such as outlawing the Muslim Brotherhood. He seemed to be responding to these critics when he released Australian journalist Peter Greste, who has been imprisoned along with two other colleagues from Al-Jazeera, for more than a year. Egypt has accused them of terrorism, a charge they have vehemently denied.
Greste’ release became possible when Sisi passed a decree that imprisoned foreigners can finish serving their prison sentences in their own country – a decree that seemed designed to enable him to free Greste and his colleagues.
Last week, a member of Egypt’s security forces was apparently responsible for fatally shooting a female protestor in a downtown Cairo Square. The incident was documented with photographs and video and has sparked an outcry in Egypt.
“The prosecutor general needs to follow through on his pledge to bring those responsible to justice,” Sarah Leah Whitson, the Middle East director of Human Rights Watch said in a recent report. “The world is watching to see whether this case breask the pattern of impunity for rights abuses that has marred Egyptian justice since the 2011 uprising.”
Analyst Kassem says that Sisi expressed distress over the killing of the protestor.
“I know for a fact that he is very upset about what happened and said that whoever is responsible will be held responsible,” Kassem said. “I take him at his word and believe that will happen.”
The Egyptian public remains divided about their President. While Egyptian polls show Sisi with a large majority of support, Western polling firms like Gallup and Pew show the country more divided, with 30- 40 percent supporting Sisi and another 30-40 percent favoring the Muslim Brotherhood.
The continued attacks in Sinai have also caused some to question Sisi’s authority. After the most recent attack, he carried out a reorganization in the army.
“Clearly this attack in north Sinai rattled Sisi and caused tensions between him and the armed forces,” Dunne, the Egypt expert, told The Media Line. “There are also continuing demonstrations and political unrest on a smaller scale. Last weekend 25 people were killed in demonstrations, and there used to be a time when that would have been news.”
She said it is still not clear whether Sisi will be able to achieve his goals in Egypt.
“Is the Sisi plan to stabilize Egypt working?” she asked. “I would say it’s still not convincing.”