Ahmed El Merghany, a popular Egyptian football star, was recently terminated from Wadi Degla for a Facebook post that criticized President Abdel-Fatah Al Sisi.
His comments came just a day after the infamous terrorist attacks in the North Sinai that left dozens dead. The player pointedly criticized Sisi's leadership of the country: "You told the people to come out and support you in order to fight terrorism. The people flood the streets even though fighting terrorism should’ve been your job in the first place. Ever since then, a lot of people have died; civilians, soldiers and policemen. Where are you in all of this? All we ever get from you are useless words.”
Merghany then went on to call Sisi a "failure" and questioned his loyalty to the soldiers and people that died in the recent attack, saying "Are you not going to declare a state of mourning and have television series canceled or are they not as important as the state prosecutor?
His club later terminated Merghany over the remarks, an ominous signal of the days ahead. Exercising the right of freedom of speech in Egypt is a crime, apparently.
But as scary as it is that a personal comment on Facebook could lead to dismissal, there's worse coming.
A drastic and highly controversial law was approved by the Cabinet last week and will come into effect once officially issued by Sisi. This law will essentially eliminate investigative journalism and promises a minimum of a two-year prison sentence for anyone who publish "false news" or casualty statistics contradicting official statements made by the Egyptian military force or government, according to AFP .
"It's a disaster to see the state pass such a law in an atmosphere charged with calls for revenge," Gamal Eid, head of the Arabic Network for Human Rights, told AFP.
Article 26 of the legislation states that any "terrorist crime" committed by saying or writing is a just cause punishable by law – with a minimum of a five-year sentence. Article 27 stipulates that for those who create or use websites to entice terrorism or promote extremist beliefs to confuse security officials and national security will also receive a minimum of a five-year sentence. Article 37 of this notorious legislation bans photography in anti-terrorism related cases and courts without the court's consent and permission.
"This is a dangerous article that violates the constitution," the Egyptian Journalists' Syndicate said in a statement . "It violates a reporter's right to seek information from various sources and it allows the executive authorities to act as censors, and the judges of truth."
"The law imposes death sentences for the founders and financiers of vaguely defined terrorist groups, and five-year prison terms for promoting terrorism on social media," legal expert and lawyer Shaaban Said told AFP .
This wide range of crackdowns will prove to be dark times for the Egyptian society; people can now lose their jobs or get handed down prison sentences for simply having an opinion.
