Assault on journalism, Al-Sisi style
The Al-Sisi regime, from its unofficial start in 2013, has been about wars: a war on terrorism, a war on the Muslim Brotherhood, and today a new war was declared: on journalism. It is not surprising for those holding pens near and far from Cairo that freedom of speech is under assault in Egypt. Even those who count Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi as a champion of their political cause are quickly realising that the modus operandi of the Egyptian strongman is, at its core, ‘my way or the highway’. The proposed anti-terrorism law crystallises a two year long policy that seeks to tighten, generally, the police state’s grip on Egypt and the autocrat’s hold, specifically, on all matters Egyptian. Mohamed Morsi was removed from power for far less.