Maged Mandour is a political analyst and author of “Egypt Under El-Sisi: A Nation on the Edge.” He writes for multiple outlets and has made several media appearances as an expert on Egyptian politics and the Sisi regime.
It was the summer of 2013, the beginning of one of the bloodiest periods in modern Egyptian history. Mobilization for mass protest against Egypt`s first democratically elected Islamist President Mohamed Morsi developed over the preceding few months, officially demanding early Presidential elections after a year of civil strife. The demonstrations began on June 30, which the military used to remove Morsi. In the lead up to the coup, supporters of the ousted president gathered in two squares, Rabba and El-Nahda, in a counter-mobilization effort.
It would be their last stand. Then Minister of Defence Abdel Fattah El-Sisi asked for a popular mandate to fight what he defined as "terrorism." I watched as counterrevolutionary forces unleashed an organized propaganda campaign to garner popular support for a wholesale bloodletting. It worked like a charm.
Indeed, Sisi would get his wish. He would also gain the presidency.
Shortly after his call, the security forces committed the Rabaa Massacre—a horrifying attack on civilian protestors that effectively ended Egypt's Arab Spring—gunning down hundreds. It was televised for the world to witness. In a cruel twist, it would later be commemorated in a television show.
The victims were mostly supporters of the ousted president. Morsi stood trial on fabricated charges of treason and colluding with foreign powers. For years, he would be detained in complete isolation and denied medical treatment, eventually leading to his death after collapsing in court.
I firmly opposed the Muslim Brotherhood—the pseudo-political party and social movement with a long history in Egypt—but I also opposed the coup that would no doubt return the military to power.
- Maged Mandour
Few dared question these actions. Indeed, popular support and fear underpinned the period's growing repression, as concerns of foreign conspiracies and an aversion to state collapse ran amok. The net of repression soon widened to swallow everyone, including apolitical bystanders. An insatiable lust for violence grew, leaving an imprint on the national psyche to this day.
In late July 2013, I argued with family and friends, making the case that Sisi was requesting a mandate to eliminate his political opponents. I firmly opposed the Muslim Brotherhood—the pseudo-political party and social movement with a long history in Egypt—but I also opposed the coup that would no doubt return the military to power. I thought it might be constructive to write about the situation, opting to pen an article for Open Democracy.
I was already living in Europe at the time. Little did I know that this action would constitute the start of a new life and a naïve attempt to understand and resist the unfolding tragedy. A long and unpredictable road had begun. Looking back, I still question my choice and the price that I ultimately paid.
Two years later, in August 2015, I made my last visit to Cairo. I had been writing in respected but lesser-known outlets about Egypt's worsening political and economic situation. My sense of dread was rising amid a growing realization that this would be the last time in my home country for a few years.
Events in February 2016 solidified these concerns, after the heavily mutilated body of the Cambridge PhD student, Giulio Regeni, was discovered in a ditch outside Cairo. He had disappeared just nine days earlier. His body carried the marks of heavy torture, including broken bones, cigarette burns and carving on his flesh.
He was tortured for several days until a blow to the neck killed him. In May 2016—three months after his disappearance—the Egyptian security forces killed five men accused of murdering Regeni in an alleged shootout. That accusation was later refuted, as evidence would prove he was abducted and tortured to death by the regime`s security forces.
That outcome was part of a broader pattern, where extrajudicial killings, mass torture and enforced disappearances proved to be the modus operandi of Sisi's rule. Giulio was a victim of a repression so systematic and entrenched as to define the regime`s ideological underpinnings. The fact that he was an international student highlighted its indifference to basic international norms or the supposed repercussions for violating them.
Giulio`s death made clear that returning to Cairo carried the terrifying risk of prison, a horrendous death or both. At this stage, my sense of dread was at a high point, forcing me to heed the warning behind Giulio's demise. I chose not to return and have not done so to this day.
My long exile had begun.
Two years later, in November 2018, I wrote an article warning of a developing debt crisis in Egypt. In the piece, I pinpointed the cause of the calamity, arguing that the economy's accelerated militarization was weakening the private sector. The following day, I was attacked by a TV host closely connected to the security services.
Giulio`s death made clear that returning to Cairo carried the terrifying risk of prison, a horrendous death or both. At this stage, my sense of dread was at a high point, forcing me to heed the warning behind Giulio's demise. I chose not to return and have not done so to this day.
- Maged Mandour
A chill ran down my spine, as I realized I was now a target. I began having a recurring dream that I have since blocked from my memory, but which previously horrified me. I would wake up confused, thinking that I was back in Cairo. While I would quickly realize how far I was from home, this dream would continue to haunt me for the next few years, ebbing and flowing alongside my struggles in exile.
Jump ahead to May 2022: The regime announced plans to privatize $40 billion in state assets over four years—a precursor to a deep financial crisis that would bring the country to the brink of bankruptcy. A massive devaluation of the Egyptian pound followed, alongside another loan from the International Monetary Fund, making Egypt the second-largest debtor after Argentina. Inflation would reach a historic high of nearly 40%, with food and beverage inflation outstripping the general inflation rate and disproportionately affecting the poor. Poverty rates were estimated at 35.7% in July 2023, based on unofficial estimates.
That jump marked a 10% increase from 2013—the year the coup took place.
Today marks just weeks before my near-decade of exile from Egypt. It has also been 21 months since the start of the genocide in Gaza—a horrid example of how unchecked autocracy stretches across the Middle East. Israel has killed at least 57,000 Palestinians, with a new trend of massacres materializing, where dozens of starving Palestinians are regularly murdered while attempting to get food for their starving families. The number of children killed reached 17,000 in April 2025, with no signs that this slaughter will end.
Amid the carnage, the Sisi regime continues to arrest and deport activists, including those who planned a march to Gaza to break the blockade. Security forces abducted and beat many of these activists—in clear alignment with Israel—to avoid attention along the Egyptian-Gazan border. This treatment is not reserved for international activists, with several Egyptians detained in separate instances since the start of the genocide.
No one is safe—from Egypt to Gaza—because the world has proven unwilling to stop the repression, torture and murder of innocent life. Autocracy and injustice thrive and spread when leaders fail to halt their advance or hold autocrats accountable.
As I have watched from afar, a childhood friend recently left me a voice message. He told me that my old house's neighborhood had developed so fast that I would barely recognize it. Like a heavy chain around my neck, I was reminded that it has been a decade since I have been home.
Indeed, I will not recognize my old home, should I eventually return.
