Egypt

The arrest of Mr. Kassem is particularly disturbing. He is former chairman of the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights and was previously publisher of Al-Masry Al-Youm, an independent newspaper. In 2007, he was honored by the National Endowment for Democracy with its Democracy Award. He has been a strong advocate for independent journalism in Egypt and highly critical of Mr. Sisi’s military rule at a time when Egypt is in a deep economic crisis. Mr. Kassem told the BBC last month, “The change that needs to happen is not just about Sisi no longer being in power, but a restructuring of the Egyptian economy that cannot happen with the military in power.” He and others launched the four-party al-Tayar al-Hurr, or Free Current, a political coalition planning to oppose Mr. Sisi in next year’s elections.