Freedom of expression in Egypt post 2011 uprisings: Repression, Surveillance and Political Prisoners

In 2013, Abdel-Fatah Al-Sisi became the president of Egypt by military control. Since then, thousands of Egyptians have been detained for holding political and intellectual beliefs. Devastating humanitarian effects resulted from this approach. Anti-state sentiments are boosted, radicalization is encouraged, and the growth of the nation's economy and civil society is impeded. Restricting free speech in order to mask a regime's corruption does not result in the creation of a stable state; rather, this combination of variables results in a state that is intended to be unstable and chaotic. In order to maintain his hold on power, president Al-Sisi restricted the freedoms of speech and information dissemination, suppressing any resistance, in the name of anti-terrorism. He criminalized human rights defenders, scholars, journalists, activists and any voice against the state. In this thesis I seek to prove the systematic and massive repression in Egypt after the uprisings, looking at the 2011 uprising as a key historical event that made this repressing possible. I seek to prove the violation of freedom of expression as a fundamental human right by the Egyptian state using counter terrorism as a mask and advanced technological surveillance tools.