8 January 2019

Vox: Egypt’s president tried to stop a 60 Minutes interview from airing. It’s now clear why.

In the Sunday interview with CBS correspondent Scott Pelley, Sisi uttered a series of lies and half-truths about his government’s gross human rights violations, and confirmed for the first time that Egypt’s military is working closely with Israel in the Sinai Peninsula. [...]

In the five years since he’s been in office, Sisi has presided over a security crackdown that’s left thousands dead, imprisoned tens of thousands more, and made the use of torture routine. He’s repressed free speech, undermined civil society, and ramped up a failing war ISIS-linked fighters in the Sinai. [...]

“Since Sisi took office, living standards have declined. The country is crumbling. The insurgency problem in the Sinai has only gotten worse. It’s backed by the Islamic State, entering its sixth year. And you’ve seen the mass incarceration of peaceful activists alongside hardened jihadists, which threatens to turn more Egyptians to terrorism. That seems to be a recipe for the very instability that Sisi claims he’s preventing,” Miller said.

However, this hasn’t seemed to have a significant effect on Egypt’s relationship with the US. Egypt remains the second biggest recipient of US aid after Israel, and President Donald Trump has hosted Sisi at the White House, referred to him as a “fantastic guy” — and even complimented him on his shoes for good measure.

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