Cairo: 13 June 2019
“Under dictatorships, there is always a group of beneficiaries who want to get close to the regime at the expense of others and seek to demonstrate their loyalty to the government, or to avoid its tyranny at the very least, by having close ties to it or by trying to please or serve it. This can be achieved through flattery and adulation, or through carrying out measures ordered by the government against whoever opposes it or act in a way that would be against its established system…”
This was addressed in a new study released by the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) today under the title “New Hesba plaintiffs…The religious, ethical and patriotic inquisition”.
The study tackles the re-emergence of a phenomenon that was prevalent during the rule of deposed dictator Hosni Mubarak, and faded away during the Great January Revolution before it strongly resurged once again after President al-Sisi took the reins of power. It is the phenomenon of Hesba cases’ plaintiffs, who have become almost dedicated to prosecuting opinion holders, especially those holding critical or different opinion. In addition to that, the study addresses the reasons behind the emergence of such Hesba complainants and gives examples of some of them.
The study also coincides with an attempt by one of Hesba plaintiffs to target the Syrian refugees in Egypt; by pressing against them some baseless and trumped-up accusations that may reach to incitement, in light of the absolute and colluding silence by the Egyptian authorities, as if they are giving this Hesba plaintiff the green light to infringe on the rights and freedoms of the Egyptians as well as Syrian refugees.
ANHRI said: “You can just google “a complaint against” and you will be bombarded with the research results of the lawsuits or complaints filed by the new Hesba plaintiffs against intellectuals, journalists and dissidents, and even against each other ironically!
You can check the study through the following link:
The New Muhtasibs … Religious, Moral and Patriotic Inquisitions
The New Muhtasibs … Religious, Moral and Patriotic Inquisitions pdf
The New Muhtasibs … Religious, Moral and Patriotic Inquisitions word
