Egypt extends crackdown to press

The arrest of Ibrahim Eissa and three other opposition journalists is the latest signal of tightening government control, reflecting anxiety over presidential succession.

from the September 18, 2007 edition

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He seized the opportunity with both hands. And while other new daily's like Egypt Today focused on sober discussions of national issues and emerging political parties, his publication made no bones about its distaste for Mubarak and the country's ruling clique.

Eissa's front-page commentaries on Mubarak often come with a little cartoon illustration of a king and he refers to the president as "The Pharaoh." He has also directly attacked Gamal and Mubarak's wife, Suzanne, a political force in her own right who was considered off limits in the press until his publication got up and running.

"We were left alone for a while because there was US pressure to have free elections, complaints about the threats against politicians like Ayman Nour," an opposition politician who was jailed after opposing Mubarak for the presidency, says Eissa. "Then the elections ended, Ayman was jailed, independent judges were attacked and US pressure ended. Now Mubarak is reasserting himself as an untouchable pharaoh."

Egyptian and foreign human rights activists say the crackdown on the press is unprecedented in recent Egyptian history. While state harassment comes with the territory for independent journalists, never before have four editors been tried and convicted at the same time.

"Press freedom does not exist in a country where the state can put you in prison simply for criticizing the president," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch, in a statement on the convictions. "This ruling and the new charges against [Eissa] are incompatible with Egypt's Constitution and its commitments under international human rights law, not to mention Egypt's current membership on the UN Human Rights Council."

Why a crackdown now?

Political analysts believe the crackdown comes now for two reasons. One is simple opportunity, with tough American criticism of Mubarak a thing of the past. The other is concerns over succession ahead of the ruling party's annual conference in October.

Many journalists like Eissa believe that Mubarak and his wife want his son Gamal to succeed him. The son, a former international banker, has quickly risen through the ranks of the NDP, though he does not yet hold public office.

"Look, we all know the Egyptian system has to change, but you have to start with the Mubarak family," says Eissa.

Mr. Said, the political scientist, argues that the current crackdown reflects the cycle of Egyptian politics since independence.

"Towards the end of regimes they engage in harassment of opposition leaders, close newspapers and so forth," he says. "It's like in September 1981 when [Anwar] Sadat arrested many politicians of many political persuasions." Shortly after that, Sadat – then president – was assassinated. "That's why many people are calling what's happening now the winds of September," says Said. "These are the last years of Mubarak's life, and whenever the government feels it has to ensure a favorable successor, it does this."

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