In 2011, when hundreds of thousands took to the streets and deposed Mubarak, many involved in the protests finally thought they would get real change. Six years later, many young people say the revolution brought nothing but dashed hopes.
In 2012, Mohammed Morsi was the president of Egypt; in 2013, he was its deposed leader; today he’s a convicted criminal, sentenced to 20 years of hard labor. And this verdict is only the first of several to be handed down against him as Muslim Brotherhood members are tried by the new government.
Amira Mikhail was in Cairo’s Tahrir Square on the day Hosni Mubarak was ousted from power. Four years later, she’s still trying to press for change — but the disappointment of the Egyptian revolution’s aftermath means she’s doing it from the United States.
The release of Al Jazeera journalist Peter Greste from an Egyptian jail may have been meant to deflect criticism on the Egyptian government. But there’s no getting around the Sisi regime’s poor record on human rights and the law.