UAE academic criticises return of police state to Egypt

UAE academic Dr Abdul Khaliq Abdullah criticised what he called the return of the police regime in Egypt.

He pointed out that his friends had told him that the police state under President Abdel Fatah Al-Sisi has exceeded what it used to be during the time of Jamal Abdul-Nasser and deposed President Hosni Mubarak.

On Twitter, Abdullah explained that the UAE government, despite its support for Al-Sisi’s coup politically and financially, objects to the existence of 20 to 40,000 political prisoners under the pretext of fighting terrorism and the Muslim Brotherhood. He added: “This is a politically and morally unacceptable price.”

He added: “Whatever happens to be the truth about the return of the authoritarian state in Egypt, what really matters is that no one should exploit the support of the UAE and the other Gulf states for Egypt’s stability in order to execute an authoritarian agenda. The UAE and the Gulf states support a secure and stable Egypt but would never align themselves on the side of a government that undermines the dignity of the Egyptian people and violate his rights and freedoms night and day.”

“Some people in Egypt may think that as far as the UAE and the Gulf states are concerned the return of stability is conditional upon the return of the authoritarian state represented by Al-Sisi. Both are two faces for the same coin.”