Publication

This paper examines the situation of civil society groups and activists in Egypt since the removal from power of President Mohamed Morsi by General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in 2013. The key arguments of the authors include that since the 2013 coup, 1) President el-Sisi’s regime has not provided sufficient clarity on what forms of political activism and activities it will tolerate; 2) state institutions have increasingly abused their powers against civil society representatives; and 3) torture, arbitrary detention and enforced disappearances have become recurrent phenomena. They also contend that human rights activities are becoming less able to fulfill their role as rights watchdogs in Egypt, partly because they have become targets of the country’s security forces themselves. Finally, they outline what policy Germany and the EU should adopt towards Egypt in light of Cairo’s policies towards civil society groups.