Mohamed Mostafa/Demotix. All rights reserved.
The news of Sisi pardoning a hundred activists leaves me more angry than joyful. It's not that I'm not happy the injustice of false imprisonment has been suspended, but that for some reason the pardon highlights the injustices that persist. The news comes ahead of Sisi's visit to New York for the UN assembly, and follows the deadly attacks by the Egyptian army on Egyptian and Mexican tourists that left 12 dead in the Western desert.
Once again, in the alleviation of the deliberate injustices inflicted upon these citizens, journalists and activists, they are used as a bargaining chip. Even in their release they are used to further Sisi's political agenda of buying people's silence on the irresponsibility with which he deals with Egyptian resources and lives. With people reporting it as 'great news', it feels as though I'm expected to celebrate the release of these activists, maybe because I know most to be innocent, maybe because they're famous and maybe because some of those released include friends.
