by David Kavanagh

With multiple journalists unjustly imprisoned simply for doing their jobs, hundreds of (mostly) innocent protesters facing the death penalty, and a generally tumultuous history of repression, despotism and futile revolutions, there’s no shortage of things to be outraged about when it comes to Egypt.

The fact that power has changed hands as often as it has, from Mubarak to Morsi to el-Sisi, only further highlights the chaotic and ever-shifting nature of the country’s social and political conditions.

While I’ll be sure to write up a detailed summary of the changes that have taken place in Egypt since the first Arab Spring uprisings later on, for now I think it’s important to look at some of the more recent news to come out of the troubled nation.

The contentious and farcical (show) trials of journalist Peter Greste, his colleagues, and, in a separate but undeniably relevant case, 182 members of the Muslim Brotherhood, shine a terrifying light on Egypt’s deplorable judicial system and the state of the country under the current President generally.

Peter Greste and the continuing demise of press freedom:

I’m sure you’ll have heard his name thrown around quite a lot in recent days, but who is Peter Greste and why should you care? Well. Here are the basic facts.

Peter Greste is an Australian journalist currently employed by Al Jazeera, a news broadcaster based in Qatar.

Last December, Greste, who had been sent to cover the continuing political unrest in Egypt, was arrested alongside two of his colleagues, Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed, and sent to a Cairo jail.

Charged beside 20 other Al Jazeera journalists, Greste and his associates were officially accused by Egypt’s Interior Ministry of falsifying news, as well as news reportage that was “damaging to national security” and had a negative impact on international perceptions of the country.

In effect, since the truth made it look bad, Egypt’s administration had to stomp out the few people brave enough to pursue and uncover it.

To justify this obvious act of press repression, prosecutors concocted claims that Greste and the other journalists were working with the Muslim Brotherhood, a group that the government had not long before labelled a terrorist organisation and banned from the country. Complete bullshit, ofcourse, just like the trial.

As VICE reported:

“The court saw videos of galloping horses and sheep, and a vintage photograph of a man holding a gun. It watched a video of a press conference held in Nairobi, where Greste was formerly based. The press conference was in English, but the judge doesn’t speak English and did not have a translator. In a session on May 22, a music video by the Australian singer Gotye was played. For much of the trial, the judge sported sunglasses.”

It was a total farce, a show trial conducted by a laughably inadequate judicial system and blatantly motivated by politics.

And although everyone in the world seemed to know this (except, maybe, some Egyptian citizens fed distorted versions of the truth by State-controlled Egyptian media), on June 23rd, following many months in prison and solitary confinement, Greste, his immediate colleagues, and a handful of other journalists were found guilty and sentenced to between seven and ten years in prison.

That’s seven and ten years in an Egyptian prison simply for being journalists.

The international outrage that this outlandish verdict sparked was ruthless, but sadly not very effective.

While US Secretary of State, John Kerry, noted that the sentence was “chilling and draconian” and, alongside many other international figures, called for Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to grant the journalists a Presidential pardon, el-Sisi responded with a hugely unsympathetic “nope” (not an actual quote) on the grounds that he would not interfere with judicial processes.

In most countries, keeping the state separate from the judiciary would usually be applauded. Not here though, not now.

His rejection has quashed any immediate hopes for rectifying the inane consequences of an absurd, politically driven judicial procedure and makes it difficult to speculate on Greste’s ultimate fate.

What is made obvious, though, is that el-Sisi has no respect for press freedom.

His consistent and public pronouncements about his plans to “correct the mistakes of the past” and commit to turning Egypt into a stable, democratic nation seem to be nothing more than the rhetoric of a man desperate to remain in control. In reality, in many ways, el-Sisi and his new regime is really just as bad as the tyrannical despots that came before him.

Egypt recapped:

But what is el-Sisi playing at exactly? To answer this question, it’s important to understand the politics at work behind-the-scenes. First, though, here’s a brief (and simplified) recap of what has happened in Egypt over the past couple of years:

February 11th 2011:

Following months of revolution and sit-ins at Tahrir Square, authoritarian Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, a man who had reigned over the nation for 30 years, resigns. The transnational Islamic organisation, the Muslim Brotherhood, plays a key role in organising large parts of the protests that lead to this.

June 24th 2012:

Mohamed Morsi, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, is elected as Egypt’s new President. Importantly, he is voted in by a majority of the population, something that hasn’t happened in a long time. This is largely because, as aforementioned, the Muslim Brotherhood helped topple Mubarak and seems to represent the interests of many Egyptian Muslims.

2012 – 2014:

Not everyone is happy and things change again quickly, as they always seem to do. Many who are dissatisfied with or generally distrust the Muslim Brotherhood protest against Morsi and call for intervention by the Egyptian army. Morsi’s supporters don’t like this, and the polarizing opinions inevitably lead to more violence. El-Sisi, the then Commander-in-Chief of the Egyptian Armed Forces, promises that the military will not intervene. False promises seem to be his thing, though, and the army does eventually get involved, resulting in the deaths of hundreds more pro-Morsi and anti-Morsi protesters. It all culminates in a coup d’état, during which el-Sisi wrestles control from Morsi.

June 2014:

El-Sisi is sworn in as President (without any elections), outlaws the Muslim Brotherhood, and bans any form of protest without government-issued licenses.

The politics at play:

Greste and the other imprisoned journalists have become pawns on a political battlefield.

It could be deduced that, when he swore himself in as Egypt’s new President, el-Sisi’s megalomaniacal motivations became clear.

Wanting power for himself, el-Sisi, like dictators before him, needed to squash all oppositional voices, the Muslim Brotherhood and foreign journalists uncovering the true nature of his regime alike. That’s not all though.

Qatar, where Al Jazeera is based, is a political ally to the Muslim Brotherhood.

Thus, in some ways. Greste’s imprisonment may also be intended as a warning to Qatar’s administration and other Al Jazeera correspondents.

182 members of the Muslim Brotherhood sentenced to death:

Peter Greste’s case is not an isolated one.

Egypt’s court system in general seems to be awash with corruption and putty in the hands of el-Sisi’s polity.

For another example of judicial absurdity, you need look no further than an equally controversial but seemingly less reported ongoing case, wherein 182 members of the Muslim Brotherhood, including its leader, spiritual guide Mohamed Badie, have been sentenced to death.

Why? Because, during the street fighting that took place between Morsi proponents and anti-Morsi protesters back in July (street fighting that claimed the lives of hundreds), one State police officer was killed.

A terrible thing, ofcourse, but it’s incredibly hard to believe that 182 individuals each directly contributed to the death of a single person, and even more difficult to believe that the prosecution had the evidence to prove that one individual’s death could directly be attributed to the actions of 182 separate entities.

That said, their trial took place within the same judicial system where a completely irrelevant music video by Gotye stood up in court and supposedly helped prove that Greste was a terrorist sympathiser.

It’s just another part of el-Sisi’s crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood and anyone that could oppose him. So much for not getting involved in judicial affairs.

It goes without saying that executing masses of innocent people is a deplorable act, no matter where their allegiances lie.

Rightly so, the international community has expressed its indignation and called for an end to this madness, with the US specifically threatening to alter plans to resume supplying aid.

Given el-Sisi’s response to pleas for Greste’s release, however, I can’t say I’m particularly hopeful for the 182 members.

It seems like el-Sisi wants to portray himself as a strong, decisive leader that won’t bend to external pressures in the eyes of the populace.

Even so, this case, like Greste’s, says a lot about the reality of his regime.

Show trials, wrongful imprisonment, and mass executions of political opponents are not things that a country eager to become a democratic society in the 21st Century world should partake in.

The tragic truth seems to be that the zealous revolutions of days past have been for nothing. Egypt’s future remains uncertain.

Further reading:

http://www.vice.com/en_au/read/egypt-al-jazeera-peter-greste-mohamed-fahmy-baher-mohamed-trial-journalists-muslim-brotherhood-terrorism

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-06-23/peter-greste-jailed-in-egypt/5543292

http://www.smh.com.au/world/egypt-upholds-mass-brotherhood-death-sentence-20140622-zshs6.html

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-06-21/death-sentence-for-muslim-brotherhood-leader-mohamed-badie/5541248

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