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Egypt’s Mohamed Ali leaves politics, returns to acting

January 27, 2020 at 11:43 am

Film producer and real-estate investor Mohamed Ali Abdel Khaleq at a press conference in London organised by Egypt Watch on 20 November 2019 [Middle East Monitor]

After no protests took place in Egypt to mark the ninth anniversary of the January 25 Revolution, Egyptian contractor Mohamed Ali announced that he is leaving politics and returning to business, Rassd reported yesterday.

Ali, who left Egypt to Spain months ago, spoke out about state corruption and how the government was misusing public funds for the benefit of ministers. The regime of President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi denied the accusations.

On Saturday, Ali released his final message to Egyptians in a five and half minutes video, saying: “Good evening my people and family… Today was decisive for me and for those who love me.”

“There is no despair… I have disclosed corruption to you and you have seen how the youth and girls were detained… Surely, there is nothing to disclose after this. I will not release any series about [President Abdel Fattah] Al-Sisi.”

READ: The January revolution will not just be a memory 

“I have chosen a certain day to regain out dignity. I said that the Egyptians should have said their word. Maybe I was not right… The response today [the anniversary of the revolution] was clear. Maybe I was wrong.”

In a pre-emptive measure to prevent protests against Al-Sisi’s regime, security services imposed very strict measures all around the country and carried out mass arrests in the lead-up to the anniversary.

“Today, the Egyptian people were either happy with [Al-Sisi’s] regime or they are afraid to protest [against it],” Ali said, reiterating his love for Egypt and its people.

He said he would leave politics and return to acting and business. “I will never speak about politics or about the country again,” he said. “You know your interests. I received your answer today,” he concluded.