1 Oct 2019; MEMO: Egypt’s General Intelligence Undersecretary Mahmoud Al-Sisi, who is the president’s son, has banned intelligence officials from leaving the country in anticipation of an internal revolt, sources have told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.
An anonymous source told the website: “Al-Sisi’s son commissioned a committee of security leaders to start an extensive investigation on intelligence officers which will include a detailed report on their bank transactions and communications.”
The ban will be ongoing until Mahmoud Al-Sisi has investigated everyone who he believes wants to overthrow his father.
Mahmoud Al-Sisi has made several attempts to protect his father in the midst of the recent demonstrations that have swept the country. At the end of September he reportedly courted high-profile businessmen to consolidate support for the president and directed media coverage so that it focused on the chaos that erupted when the president was out of the country at the UN General Assembly in New York.
Egyptians have protested for two weeks in a row as a series of videos released by the Egyptian contractor Mohamed Ali unveiled widespread corruption in the top ranks of the Egyptian regime and the army which struck a nerve with Egyptians living under severe austerity.
Ali called for a million-man march on Friday to demand that the general turned president, who has committed severe human rights abuses in the country, stand down.
“Your time is up,” Ali told Al-Sisi in one of his videos. “Your last date with the people of Egypt will be on Friday.”
Last week the Arabic hashtag “Enough Al-Sisi” was trending worldwide with over one million tweets.
In the lead up to the demonstrations, human rights watchdog Amnesty International called on world leaders to act to stop President Al-Sisi’s crackdown on protesters.
North Africa Campaigns Director at Amnesty, Najia Bounaim, said that the government was “clearly shaken to its core” by the demonstrations, and so was pursuing a further crackdown on activists, journalists and former detainees.
Al-Sisi’s regime has gone to great lengths to curb the protests, included labelling them “lies” and “slander”.
According to figures compiled by the Egyptian Coordination for Rights and Freedoms, over 2,350 people were arrested in the space of two weeks.
