Egypt: Opposition coalition denounces detention of leader

A coalition of Egyptian political parties publicly criticized the country’s current government Monday (Aug. 28) for persecuting politicians, in a rare act of political dissent.

In a news conference Monday, Emad Gad, a spokesmen for the Free Current coalition, said the practices of President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi’s government “represent a severe danger to the political and economic future of our country.”

Since coming to power in 2013, el-Sissi’s government has detained thousands of suspected supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamist party banned as a terrorist organization, and also secular activists and dissidents.

Rights groups and former prisoners have accused the Egyptian government of deploying brutal tactics to curb dissent, such as forced disappearances, torture and long-term detentions without trial.

The Free Current coalition was formed in June this year, comprised of an array of mostly liberal opposition parties and figures.

One of its leading figures, Hashim Kassem, was detained last week following a public spat with a former government minister. According to The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, a leading rights organization, Kassem will be tried next month with several charges including slander, defamation, and assaulting a public servant.