Com-Law Commentary: Cum on Feel The Noize: What's Poppin in Egypt This Weekend

Good people of the internet, welcome to another week of my unrestricted commentary. Protesters in Egypt have been similarly unrestricted in their commentary against their president, engaging in unforeseen and widespread demonstrations around the country on Friday.

Small groups of protesters gather in central Cairo shouting anti-government slogans in Cairo

Protesters in Cairo (see link for source)

A call to action posted via social media to take a stand against President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, in response to the inherent corruption of his administration. Mohamed Ali, an Egyptian businessman living as an exile in Spain, took to social platforms to urge Egyptians to protest in the streets after a highly attended soccer match in Cairo on Friday. Speaking from his experience as a contractor working for el-Sisi's regime, Ali claimed that el-Sisi and his aides mismanaged public funds for their own gain (e.g. Palaces and Villas being built for administration officials), when Egypt is currently battling a poverty crisis. Statistics taken in July report that 33% of Egyptians are living below the poverty line, according to AlJazeera.

Mohamed Ali who said he worked with the army for 15 years, has accused the Egyptian president of corruption [Screengrab/Al Jazeera]

Mohamed Ali, former contractor for Egyptian government (see link for source)

The people certainly heard this call to action, and came out in droves. Demonstrations occurred in eight Egyptian metro areas, the largest ones in Cairo, Alexandria, and Suez. From the high view count and usage of anti-Sisi hashtags on various platforms, this outcry wasn't surprising. What is surprising however, is that in light of laws and responses created by el-Sisi's administration to subdue dissenters, these citizens took their lives into their hands and came out anyways.

el-Sisi took power in Egypt via a military coup in 2013, overthrowing Mohamed Mursi after many demonstrations against the regime. Since his rise to power, el-Sisi has installed legislation to protect himself against this sort of downfall. 'Unauthorized' protests are illegal in Egypt, Security and police forces in metro areas responded to protesters with tear gas, with arrests of tens of citizens and a journalist. There have been no casualties reported, but the risk taken by these protesters was high in coming out yesterday.

People celebrate at Tahrir Square with a portrait of Army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi after a broadcast confirming that the army will temporarily be taking over from the country's first democratically elected president Mohammed Morsi

Photo taken following the announcement of el-Sisi's takeover in 2013. (see link for source)

Protesters could be heard chanting, "LEAVE, SISI", and "THE PEOPLE DEMAND THE FALL OF THE REGIME". A poster of el-Sisi was destroyed by protesters, Here's a few links to videos taken from the demonstration, posted to social media, to give you an idea of how angry the people were.

Video 1

Video 2

Video 3

el-Sisi is actually on his way to the US to attend the United Nations General Assembly, and has yet to deliver a response to the action back home. el-Sisi called Ali's comments last week, "slander", and claimed to be "honest and faithful" to Egypt and its military. State TV glossed over the protest action or minimized it, describing the conflict as "quiet". Human Rights Watch has demanded that the UN take a stand against el-Sisi during his attendance at the General Assembly, and for the release of the jailed protesters.

President el-Sisi addressing Ali's comments at a youth summit last week. (see link for source)

The importance of standing up for your country, holding your representatives and administrative bodies responsible for their actions or inaction is highly important. We have our rights to do this guaranteed to us as U.S. citizens, and this right is one we can never fully grasp the privilege of. Countries such as Egypt, that are denied by law this freedom, still understand the fundamental importance of this action, and the changes it can bring. What those changes will be remains to be seen, but the bravery and belief in Egypt and its progress exercised by its citizens this weekend is a reminder that while not everyone has this privilege, people around the world seek to employ dissent at any cost, to better the world they live in.