The Egyptian government has increased its
clamp-down on freedom of speech, according to a report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) on 19 February 2021. Together with 20 other Egyptian and international organizations, HRW describes in the report how family members in Egypt of government critics living abroad are now being targeted and even disappear.
Michael Bosch, persecution analyst at World Watch Research, comments: "President al-Sisi has managed to silence all critics of his regime within Egypt, as highlighted by HRW in its
World Report 2021. Only Egyptians living abroad are still able to criticize the regime, which effectively means that it is no longer possible for them to return to Egypt without significant risk of being arrested. However, by targeting their family members in Egypt, the regime is aiming to silence them as well. It would seem that President al-Sisi has turned into an authoritarian ruler, tolerating no criticism from any Egyptian anywhere."
Michael Bosch continues: "Egypt"s Christians were hopeful that, after the resignation of former President Mubarak, a new era would begin. Unfortunately, with the rise of yet another authoritarian figure, there is little hope for any positive change in the foreseeable future. Yes, al-Sisi presents himself as the protector of Christians, but this means that no Christian or church can speak out about incidents of discrimination and persecution since that is considered to be a punishable act of criticism of the official narrative. That is why Christians like Ramy Kamil, for example, a Coptic activist raising awareness for religious freedom, was detained in November 2019 and remains in prison without trial."
Michael Bosch concludes: "With the further clamp-down on freedom of speech, it will be increasingly difficult to report on cases of infringements of the religious rights of Egypt"s Christians, as these cannot be publicly mentioned without government reprisals. The only hope is that other countries and international organizations will put pressure on the Egyptian government to change course."
