Four members of a performance group aged between 19 and 25 have been arrested in Cairo over video clips posted online that mocked Egypt’s president and his supporters. It is the latest in a string of crackdowns on freedom of expression by president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi following anti-government protests last month.
Mohammed Adel, Mohammed Dessouki, Mohammed Yahya and Mohammed Gabr are facing charges of inciting terror attacks and street protests as well as insulting state institutions, according to the Associated Press. A fifth member of the group, 19-year-old Ezzedeen Khaled, was detained separately and faces charges of insulting state institutions and inciting protests, but not terror attacks. The sixth member, Mohammed Zein, has not been detained, according to Mahmoud Othman, the lawyer for the street artists.
The collective, Awlad el-Shawarea (Street Children), was born out of the graffiti and music scene that flourished in the streets of Egypt during and immediately after the 2011 uprising. With a huge following on social media, the group is known for its political selfie-style video clips.
Some of the group’s works have directly criticised el-Sisi, including a recent video entitled el-Sisi, my president, made things worse. Another clip mocked el-Sisi’s trademark way of ending speeches with “Long live Egypt!” and his recent references to advice from his late mother to “never to covet what belongs to others”.
In another recent work, Awlad el-Shawarea turned its focus on Egypt’s deal to transfer two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia, paving the way for the construction of a bridge linking Saudi Arabia with Sharm el-Sheikh. The surrender of the islands led to calls for the fall of el-Sisi’s government, which has become increasingly intolerant of criticism from activists, journalists and artists.
The Egyptian embassy in London could not be reached for comment.
