The Middle East in the Past Year: Egypt

Last year was one of the most tumultuous years in the Middle East. Fundamental changes were taking place throughout this region of the world, which undoubtedly had major impacts on the political and cultural atmosphere of each country in the Middle East and North Africa. Additionally, the relationships between these countries and with the international system were affected by these transformations and fundamental changes. The following article primarily focuses on developments in Egypt, which is considered one of the turbulent centers of the Middle East. In July 2013, then-Minister of Defense, retired Field Marshal Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, ousted the democratically elected Islamist President Mohamed Morsi through a military coup. Less than a year later, in late May 2014, el-Sisi officially became the President of Egypt after winning over 90% of the votes against his only electoral rival, Hamdeen Sabahi, who garnered only 5.3% of the votes. In mid-February 2015, agents of the 'Islamic State' (ISIS) horrifically beheaded 21 Egyptian Christians (Copts) on the shores of Tripoli, Libya, and released a video of this crime to promote their presence in Libya. Copts in Egypt have experienced all kinds of social and political discrimination under previous presidents. Since the coup by el-Sisi, the people have only remembered him for the repression, killings, and arrests of opponents. Perhaps the crime committed by ISIS provided el-Sisi with the best opportunity to repair his not-so-favorable image by attacking ISIS in Libya. Thus, el-Sisi's order to bomb ISIS positions in Libya was seen as an action that presented him as a moderate figure and was considered his first positive action after months of suppressing the Egyptian people. El-Sisi, who was the Commander-in-Chief of the Egyptian Army during Mohamed Morsi's presidency, seized a golden opportunity after the coup against Morsi and the suppression of the Muslim Brotherhood and used it to the fullest. However, this action did not end the vulnerability of the Copts, who make up 10% of Egypt's 90 million population. El-Sisi issued a decree allowing the construction of a church in a village called al-Awar, where the Copts killed by ISIS were from, in their memory. However, Muslims protested and opposed this decree by throwing Molotov cocktails and stones, attacking the Copts and injuring some. During the height of the coup days, at least a thousand supporters of ousted President Mohamed Morsi were killed in the streets of Cairo and major cities in Egypt by forces loyal to el-Sisi. Some analysts believe that the support of Pope Tawadros II, the religious leader of Egypt's Orthodox Copts, for el-Sisi and a photo showing him next to el-Sisi was interpreted as support from Christians for el-Sisi's repression, which angered Muslims in Egypt. In the spring of 2015, a court in Egypt, in alignment with el-Sisi's repressive policies, issued death sentences for many members of the Muslim Brotherhood. In some cases, death sentences were also issued in absentia for members and individuals who had fled Egypt. Group trials were conducted, and in one instance, 119 people were tried together, receiving heavy sentences ranging from 10 years to life imprisonment and death. The death sentences from this court had a silencing, repressive, and show trial aspect and were subject to appeal. By April, only one death sentence had been carried out, but the trend of issuing sentences indicated that General el-Sisi aimed to end opposition to the ousting of Mohamed Morsi by designating the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization. Mohamed Morsi himself received two death sentences and a life sentence. Most death sentences, including that of Mohamed Ahmed Badie, the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, along with 36 other defendants, were collectively annulled in December 2015, and the appeals court ruled to review the cases. In the summer of 2015, a global movement to abolish death sentences in Egypt emerged, with countries like Qatar, Austria, and Germany joining Amnesty International in calling for the annulment of sentences, particularly the death sentence of former President Mohamed Morsi. The Egyptian government did not respond to these pressures and only released about 165 young prisoners, none of whom were prominent members of the Muslim Brotherhood. In August, a court in Egypt confirmed the charges against Mohamed Badie, the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, and several of his associates, sentencing him to life imprisonment. Their charge was involvement in the killing of five people during a group attack on a police station in Port Said. A week before this trial, new laws were passed in Egypt that allowed the government to suppress opponents under the guise of anti-terrorism. Based on these laws, the working conditions for journalists were further restricted. Some of the penalties included heavy fines (ranging from €23,000 to €57,000) for journalists whose reports contradicted the official government narrative regarding Islamist attacks. Detainees associated with terrorist groups are easily sentenced to life imprisonment or death. The new regulations were enacted after a car bomb in Cairo on June 29 resulted in the injury and subsequent death of Hisham Barakat, Egypt's Attorney General. Following this bombing, the 'Islamic State' officially began its activities in Egypt. In the Western Desert of Egypt, which boasts beautiful cliffs and stunning sandy nature, the area is both a tourist attraction and a safe haven for 'Islamic State' terrorists. In mid-September of the current year, following a surveillance and anti-terror operation, police and security forces mistakenly targeted a convoy of four vehicles carrying a group of tourists and their guides, mistaking them for terrorists. This incident resulted in 12 deaths and 10 injuries. The fight against terrorist groups throughout the year resulted in around one hundred deaths on both sides. At the same time, in late August, a group of 12 individuals affiliated with the 'Islamic State' were tried and sentenced to death. The year marked a crisis for human rights in Egypt. According to statistics from Egypt's Ministry of Interior, since the summer of 2014, Egyptian prisons have seen astronomical numbers of el-Sisi's opponents who protested in the streets following the ousting of Mohamed Morsi. 7,000 were imprisoned for protesting, and 29,000 for membership in the Muslim Brotherhood. With the arrest of leftist and secular activists, this number continued to grow. International human rights organizations accused el-Sisi's government of detaining and trying individuals without legal processes, conducting show trials, and issuing death sentences for over 1,200 people without granting them the right to defense. During some trials, courts even prevented defense lawyers from entering the courtroom. The list of human rights violations by el-Sisi's government is extensive, ranging from armed military and police attacks on ordinary people to violating the most basic rights and freedoms such as freedom of expression and assembly. Freedom of religion, although guaranteed in the 2014 constitution, is routinely violated. Administrative corruption, lack of rule of law, disregard for gender equality, intolerance towards homosexuality, lack of transparency, and other accusations have persisted in Egypt throughout 2015. In the last days of 2013, three journalists from Al Jazeera were arrested on charges of false propaganda against Egypt and publishing reports against the country's security, as well as collaborating with the Muslim Brotherhood. In the summer of 2014, Egyptian security officials sentenced two journalists, Mohamed Fahmy, a Canadian-Egyptian, and Peter Greste, an Australian, each to seven years in prison, while Baher Mohamed, an Egyptian Al Jazeera journalist, received a ten-year sentence. The conviction of these three journalists faced severe international protests, leading to the perception that the trial was politically motivated. Ultimately, under international pressure, a court in Egypt issued a ruling for the release of these journalists after 400 days of imprisonment. Additionally, on el-Sisi's orders, 358 prisoners in Egypt (including Al Jazeera journalists and hundreds of political activists) were released on the eve of Eid al-Adha. The Suez Canal has historically had a direct connection to Egypt's economy. One of el-Sisi's first actions was to reconstruct and build a second lane in the canal, which could gradually bring significant changes to the canal's performance. This new lane was operational on August 6. As a result, the possibility of two-way traffic in the canal was created, reducing waiting time from 18 hours to 11 hours. This work is expected to double the daily transit capacity in the coming years, with revenues from this project, which amounted to $5.3 billion in 2015, expected to reach $13.25 billion in less than eight years. The presence of Michael Fallon, the British Defense Minister, at the inauguration of the new Suez Canal branch surprised some analysts, although the famous British oil company BP is one of the major foreign investors in Egypt, allocating $8 billion for its five-year program and planning to cooperate in exploiting Egypt's natural gas reserves in the western Nile Delta region. Two weeks before the end of 2015, in a move aimed at strengthening friendly relations with Egypt, Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi Deputy Crown Prince, announced that the Saudi government also intends to invest $8 billion in Egypt over a five-year program. He also expressed Saudi support for the development of shipping programs in the Suez Canal. On October 31, 2015, the crash of a Russian passenger Airbus A321 in the Sinai Desert, which killed all 224 passengers and crew members, once again drew global attention to Egypt and the activities of the 'Islamic State.' Although initially, the possibility of a connection between ISIS and the plane crash was downplayed, no credible alternative has emerged to date. This incident caused an economic blow to Egypt's tourism industry and led to the rapid return of over 11,000 Russian tourists from Egypt. The sense of insecurity also affected the travel plans of other tourists, resulting in nearly 10,000 British tourists returning from Egypt, and the British government announced it would increase the number of its intelligence and security personnel. The Sinai Peninsula and the Sharm El Sheikh area, due to their shared border with Israel, have always been of particular interest to anti-Israeli extremist groups. After nearly two years since the fall of Mohamed Morsi's government, the two-stage parliamentary elections in Egypt were held on October 18 and 19, as well as November 22 and 23. A total of 2,500 candidates ran for entry into the Egyptian parliament, but public participation was low. Less than one-third of Egypt's 90 million population was declared eligible to vote, but less than thirty percent of eligible voters cast their ballots. In the second round, this number was about 8 million. The announced results indicate that major parties like Wafd, Tagammu, and Nasserist have seen a noticeable decline, while newly established parties supportive of General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, such as Al-Ahrar and Mostaqbal Watan, have gained prominence. The Egyptian parliamentary elections faced severe criticism from opponents who believe that funds with political objectives were spent to shape and support new parties and their candidates to achieve such results. On August 2, 2015, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry visited Cairo and discussed a wide range of bilateral relations with Egyptian officials, from human rights situations to criticism of the one-dimensional approach to combating extremist groups that only punishes without using persuasive methods to change attitudes, as well as discussions on domestic policies and the necessity of holding elections. The Egyptian side stated that there were no major disagreements between the two countries and called for the development of economic cooperation and investment in Egypt. Overall, noticeable changes in the relationship between the two countries were observed after this visit, and it can be said that after nearly two years of ambiguity, U.S.-Egypt relations were re-established in mid-summer 2015. However, Egypt has still not been able to define and regulate its relations with other Middle Eastern countries such as Turkey, Iran, or Syria. Turkey, which is considered a supporter of Mohamed Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood, despite recent moves towards rebuilding relations with Israel, still does not recognize el-Sisi. Iran, despite hopes that arose after the nuclear deal with the West, has not yet been able to untie the knot of relations with Egypt. On November 5, 2015, General el-Sisi's visit to London and meeting with British Prime Minister David Cameron once again reminded of Egypt's historical subjugation by Great Britain, which seemed almost forgotten after nearly a century of major global events and international terrorism. The events of the Arab Spring in Egypt raised hopes for establishing a democracy, replacing Hosni Mubarak's lifelong presidency. The experience of Mohamed Morsi's government, however, could not yield favorable results in a short time, and the country fell back into crisis, reverting to military dominance and repressive methods. However, it seems that the retired Field Marshal of Hosni Mubarak's army is now determined to restore military authority instead of returning to the Arab Spring.