{"id":89462,"date":"2021-03-23T08:37:25","date_gmt":"2021-03-23T08:37:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jacobinmag.com\/2021\/03\/egypt-sisi-repression-political-dissent-arms-deal\/"},"modified":"2021-03-23T08:47:06","modified_gmt":"2021-03-23T08:47:06","slug":"the-high-price-of-speaking-out-in-egypt-under-sisi-washingtons-favorite-dictator","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2021\/03\/23\/the-high-price-of-speaking-out-in-egypt-under-sisi-washingtons-favorite-dictator\/","title":{"rendered":"The High Price of Speaking Out in Egypt Under Sisi, Washington\u2019s Favorite Dictator"},"content":{"rendered":"\n \n\n\n\n

On the campaign trail, Joe Biden criticized Donald Trump\u2019s support for the Egyptian ruler Sisi, his \u201cfavorite dictator.\u201d But Biden has now approved fresh arms sales to Egypt, turning a blind eye to ongoing repression. This bipartisan betrayal of democracy has to end.<\/h3>\n\n\n
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\n Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi at the presidential palace in Cairo during a ceremony to sign military contracts, 2015. (Kenzo Tribouillard \/ AFP via Getty Images)\n <\/figcaption> \n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n \n

Donald Trump famously referred to Egypt\u2019s president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi as \u201cmy favorite dictator\u201d during a press conference at the 2019 G7 Summit. Trump went on to shower effusive praise on his Egyptian counterpart:<\/p>\n

We understood each other very well. He\u2019s a very tough man, I will tell you that … and he\u2019s done a fantastic job in Egypt.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Indeed, Sisi has worked very hard to live up to the reputation of being \u201ca very tough man\u201d who his leading American fan delighted in rewarding.<\/p>\n

A former general and chief of military intelligence, Sisi led a military coup against Egypt\u2019s nascent democracy in 2013, less than three years after the uprisings of 2011. Ever since, the people of Egypt have been living in the military\u2019s cross hairs.<\/p>\n\n \n\n \n \n \n

Police State, Client State<\/h2>\n \n

Sisi unleashed a brutal police state, far more repressive than the government of his autocratic predecessor, Hosni Mubarak. As a report<\/a> by the Congressional Research Service points out:<\/p>\n

While successive Egyptian presidents since 1952 were effective at centralizing power, both within the ruling system and outside it, certain institutions (judiciary, military) … enjoyed a degree of independence from the executive. However, under President Sisi, there has been an unprecedented attempt to consolidate control over all branches of government.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In April 2019, the report notes, the country\u2019s rubber-stamp parliament approved amendments granting the Egyptian president \u201cauthority to appoint all chief justices of Egyptian judicial bodies and the public prosecutor.\u201d<\/p>\n