Dozens arrested in Egypt for joining opposition group’s online platform

Egyptian authorities have arrested about 60 people for joining a political opposition group on the online platform Discord, a lawyer with a rights group handling some of the cases tells AFP.

Detainees have over the past two months been charged with joining a terrorist group, spreading false news and misusing social media platforms, says Shorouk Sallam, the head of the legal unit at the Egyptian Front for Human Rights.

“Arrests began at the end of last year, but starting mid-May, the pace has picked up, and now 60 people have been arrested,” she says.

Those arrested had joined a Discord server known as GenZ002, which was “founded by an Egyptian dissident living abroad, Anas Habib, as part of a campaign in which he calls on Egyptians to express their opposition through methods such as graffiti or distributing pamphlets.”

He has also launched an online poll to “remove (President Abdel-Fattah) el-Sissi.”

The Netherlands-based Habib was arrested twice last year, first in Amsterdam for an alleged assault on the Egyptian embassy, and then in Brussels for an alleged threat against Sissi during a visit.

Discord, popular among young internet users, was temporarily blocked in Egypt earlier this year.

It played a pivotal role in Gen Z protests that swept Nepal and Morocco last year, and according to its website has been banned in Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, North Korea and China.

Cairo is frequently criticized over human rights violations and threats to freedom of expression, including a sweeping crackdown on online content creators that has landed young women influencers and comedians behind bars.

Human rights groups say Egypt is holding large numbers of politicians, activists, journalists, and opposition figures behind bars.