In response to limited protests that emerged last week in some Egyptian cities, supporters of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi began calling for demonstrations on Friday, in parallel with an invitation by an Egyptian actor and contractor, called Muhammad Ali, to organize adverse movements.
For his part, Sisi ruled out, during a meeting with US President Donald Trump on Tuesday, the Egyptians’ acceptance of “political Islam” governing the country, pointing out that the people “rejected this rule,” in reference to the year when late Mohamed Morsi was in power (2012- 2013), before being ousted by the army after mass demonstrations demanding his departure.
Trump expressed full support to Sisi, saying the United States and Egypt have a great long-term relationship.
“Everybody has demonstrations,” Trump during the meeting, which was held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.
“No, I’m not concerned with it. Egypt has a great leader,” he added.
Earlier this week, the Public Information Service of the Egyptian Presidency called on the international media to “avoid exaggeration and put things within their context and size” with regards to the coverage of recent events in Egypt.
General Mohamed Zaki, the minister of Defense, said on Tuesday that the armed forces were working “with the utmost vigilance and readiness to secure the borders of the state, and to face all attempts to undermine Egypt’s security and stability.”
In parallel, lawyers defending citizens who were arrested for participating in the opposition demonstrations, said that the investigative authorities issued a decision on Tuesday to detain 270 people for 15 days pending charges against them. Those included “participating in a movement involving the Muslim Brotherhood for the purpose of carrying out hostile acts.”
