Abdel Fattah al-Sisi: The General Who Turned Egypt into a Giant Prison

Introduction: From a Republic to a Cell

Since the military coup of July 3, 2013, led by then-Defense Minister Abdel Fattah al-Sisi against Egypt’s first democratically elected president, Mohamed Morsi, Egypt has steadily transformed into what can only be described as a giant prison. The walls are invisible, but the bars are everywhere: in the media, the courts, the streets, the economy, and even inside the minds of ordinary citizens.

Once a country teeming with political energy and public engagement following the 2011 revolution, Egypt is now governed by a regime that rules through fear, surveillance, and systemic repression. The prison is not just physical; it is psychological, digital, and economic.

Chapter One: The Coup that Killed Civilian Rule

The military takeover in 2013 did not just remove a president—it dismantled the dream of democratic governance in Egypt. General Sisi presented the coup as a response to public discontent, but it was, in reality, the beginning of a full-scale counter-revolution.

Within weeks, Egypt saw:

• A sweeping crackdown on protests.
• The passing of draconian laws banning public assembly.
• Mass arrests of opposition figures, journalists, students, and civil society leaders.
• The start of a media propaganda machine that demonized dissent and glorified the military.

The message was clear: there is no space for opposition in Sisi’s Egypt.

Chapter Two: Judiciary as a Weapon

Under Sisi, the judicial system became one of the main tools of repression:

Mass Trials and Executions

• In March 2014, a single court sentenced 529 people to death in one session.
• Dozens of political prisoners, including minors, were tried without proper legal defense.
• Courts rubber-stamped death sentences based on confessions extracted under torture.

Politicized “Terror Lists”

Thousands of people, from academics to soccer fans, were added to “terrorist lists” without evidence or due process, effectively criminalizing thought and association.

Chapter Three: The Real Prisons – Cemeteries for the Living

Egypt’s physical prisons have swollen with political detainees, and conditions are often inhumane and deadly.

Mass Incarceration

• Over 60,000 political prisoners are believed to be behind bars.
• At least 30 new prisons were built since 2013 to house the overflow.
• Thousands have disappeared forcibly, with families left in the dark about their fate.

Scorpion Prison (al-Aqrab)

This infamous maximum-security facility is a symbol of Sisi’s repression:

• Inmates are denied medical care, family visits, and even sunlight.
• Cells lack ventilation and basic sanitation.
• Torture, starvation, and prolonged isolation are commonplace.

A former detainee, Mohamed Soltan, later stated:

“Scorpion isn’t a prison—it’s designed to kill you slowly.”

Chapter Four: Silencing the Press, Weaponizing Information

Egypt has become one of the worst countries in the world for press freedom:

• Over 120 journalists arrested since 2013.
• Independent media outlets blocked, such as Mada Masr, Daily News Egypt, and Al-Borsa.
• Over 600 websites censored, including human rights organizations and news platforms.

Digital Surveillance

• The government monitors Facebook, Twitter, and even WhatsApp conversations.
• A 2018 “Cybercrime Law” punishes social media users for “spreading fake news”—a charge used against activists, comedians, and even ordinary citizens.

Chapter Five: Crushing Civil Society

Under Sisi, civil society has been effectively dismantled.

• The 2019 NGO law requires all civil society organizations to be under direct government oversight.
• Receiving foreign funding is criminalized, even for humanitarian work.
• Activists are harassed, detained, and sometimes forced into exile.

Human rights groups like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have been barred from operating inside Egypt, with many of their local collaborators imprisoned or silenced.

Chapter Six: The Economy of Control

Sisi’s regime uses economic policy as a form of political repression.

Military Monopoly

• The army now controls large sectors of the economy: construction, agriculture, transportation, pharmaceuticals, even fish farming.
• Civilian businesses struggle to compete with tax-exempt military companies.
• Massive vanity projects like the New Administrative Capital have drained public funds without addressing poverty or unemployment.

Public Suffering

• Inflation has skyrocketed following the 2016 currency devaluation.
• Food prices doubled, while wages remained stagnant.
• Over 30% of Egyptians now live below the poverty line.
• Essential services—education, healthcare, water—have deteriorated.

Ordinary Egyptians are trapped between economic despair and authoritarian indifference.

Chapter Seven: Everyday Life Behind Bars

What does it mean to live in Sisi’s Egypt today?

• Fear of speaking in public or private.
• Random arrests for attending protests or posting online.
• Invasive surveillance at work, at universities, even in mosques.
• Humiliation at government offices, forced loyalty pledges, and coerced silence.

Even those not in prison cells live under constant psychological incarceration.

Conclusion: A Nation in Chains

Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has turned Egypt into a massive prison, not through barbed wire and guard towers alone, but by colonizing every space in which freedom once dared to exist. Politics, media, civil society, and even private lives are now subject to the authoritarian gaze of a regime that equates dissent with treason and silence with loyalty.

But prisons are not forever. History has shown time and again that no dictatorship—no matter how brutal—can silence an entire people indefinitely. The cost of resistance is high, but the cost of submission is even higher.

And one day, the walls will crack.