Thread by @m_medhaat

Thread on the recent arrest of an Egyptian American who is charged with tracking and obtaining information regarding Egyptian political dissidents in the US.

justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/m…

1- Since President Sisi came to power, many Egyptian activists had to flee Egypt, however, it is not the first time for Egyptians to be in exile, but it is the first time for them to engage in organized activism in different ways with authoritarianism in Egypt.

2- In response to that, the Egyptian regime adopted serval tools of #transnationalrepression to target and silence Egyptian dissidents abroad, including arresting them when they return or targetting their families in Egypt among other tools.

3- Spying and collecting information and increasing state capacity for surveillance on dissidents abroad is the first and more important step in not only targeting them later but sending a clear message that the Egyptian authorities can reach you wherever you are.

4- and those you might think you can politically mobilize against the Egy regime might actually be working with the regime to target you, which spreads mutual fear within Egyptian diaspora members abroad, and makes them question each other's relationship with the regime.

5- Besides hiring spies,the Egy regime relies on Egyptian officials in Egyptian embassies all over the world to spy on their citizens by official means. In 2020, the Egyptian embassy in Washington DC requested the diaspora register their personal details on a non-secure website.

6- The Egy regime is also using different spyware imported from different countries, some of which are EU democratic countries, to hack laptops and mobiles of opponents abroad.Recently @citizenlab discovered one of these cases with Ayman Nour, an Egy opponent residing in Turkey.

7-This is not the first time an Egyptian spy to been arrested. In 2020 the German authorities arrested another Egyptian spy who used to work for Merkel's press office. It is clear that the Egy regime hires more spies in places where Egyptians in exile are more politically active.

8-It becomes clear that #transnationalrepression is not only a threat to opponents abroad but also a threat to the host countries’ national security.

9- this is why tackling this issue should go beyond arresting spies, to include other coercive diplomacy tools with countries practicing such behavior.