Two months after it took power, the Egyptian military is widening its assault on the right to organise. The military is cynically using the bitterness millions feel towards the deposed Morsi government to try and carry out a full blooded counter-revolution and destroy all the achievements of the uprising that brought down Mubarak.
For the first time since January 2011, the Egyptian ruling class is united and on the offensive. The military’s moves to consolidate its power have the full backing of the media, of the key institutions of the state, and of the private capitalists whose interests have been closely intertwined with those of the military for decades.
And they are aided not only by the mass hostility to the Muslim Brotherhood, but by the appalling capitulation of many former opponents of the military who are now cheering it on.
Thousands of supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood have been arrested. And now, the few revolutionary voices who both stood against Morsi, and also vocally oppose the military takeover, are finding themselves squarely in the crosshairs of the counter-revolution.
On September 5, labour lawyer Haitham Mohamedain, a leading activist in the Revolutionary Socialists, was arrested on his way to meet clients in Suez. Haitham and the Revolutionary Socialists have been among only a small number of activists prepared to publicly condemn the brutal crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood in recent weeks, including the killing of hundreds of protesters on 14 August.
Haitham was released from prison on 7 September, but according to his lawyer, Ramy Ghoneim, he was read a list of very serious charges, including:
“Leading and joining a secret organisation called the Revolutionary Socialists, the purpose of which is to deny the authority of the state, assault citizens and damage social peace”;
“Incitement by verbal and written means for the purposes mentioned in the first indictment and possessing publications inciting violence”;
“Attempting to change the form of government by terrorist means through the organisation you lead”;
“Jointly inciting and assisting in the destruction of state property, facilities and institutions with the intention of damaging the nation”;
“Jointly inciting and assisting in the occupation of a number of public buildings and public facilities”; and
“Establishing and leading the Revolutionary Socialists organisation which agitates in favour of imposing a specific social class on the whole of society and overthrowing the social order of the state”.
The Revolutionary Socialists is a small organisation, but it has the respect of many for its intransigent role from the first days of the revolution. The charge that RS members are “terrorists” or somehow pawns of Morsi is ludicrous. They stood in the streets first against Mubarak, then against SCAF, then against Morsi. They have always been advocates of mass democratic struggle, the method that has been the driving force of the Egyptian revolution.
The fact that they are now being targeted should be a wakeup call to those who think the military can be trusted, or that it will limit its repression to the Muslim Brotherhood. In Egypt now, anyone who stands against military rule is a “terrorist”.
Haitham’s arrest has drawn condemnation from trade unionists and activists across the world. He has represented hundreds of striking workers in court, and is also well known for his work with victims of torture through El-Nadeem Centre. Solidarity needs to continue.
[Go to menasolidaritynetwork.com and sign the statement calling for the dropping of all charges.]
