Why would a super star footballer with an international reputation become on a terrorist list?
Welcome to Egypt!
Mohamamd Abu Treka is one of the Egyptians who're recently put on a terrorist list.
January 17th, 2017:
In another attack on civil rights and liberties in Egypt, 1500 Egyptians were put on a terrorist list, most of them without any prior investigations and solely based on political foundation.
Among the names are Mohammad Morsi, the first civilian democratically elected president of Egypt as well as Mohamamd Abu Treka, one of the most popular Egyptian and Arab footballer and an icon for Al Ahly football team.
The list has over 100 women, political prisoners, hundreds of youth, journalists, and Egyptians from all walks of life. There are also names of persons who are already dead.
Some of these individuals have already been imprisoned for several years since the military coup ( over political charges), while the others who're outside will now face a serious threat of their rights being violated, assets being frozen, and passports taken away from them as well as several other restrictions on their travel, movement, and business in Egypt.
Some of the individuals on the new terrorist list:
Samhy Mostafa is a journalist who's been in prison for 3 years and is serving a life sentence.
Abu Bakr Mashali, a young Egyptian enginner who left Egypt after the military coup
Hesham Gaffar, a leftist journalist and academic who's been in prison over political basis.
Sondos Asem, an Egyptian academic in Britain is one of the women who are put on the terrorist list recently and has received a death sentence. You can read her story here:
Who is a terrorist in Egypt since 2013?
The Egyptian state's definition of who is a terrorist was really stretched since the July 3rd military coup in 2013. Since then it includes anybody who opposes or criticizes the Egyptian state/government.
It's important for the western policy makers as well as any non-Egyptian reader and follower of the situation in Egypt to understand the motivations behind these decisions made by the Egyptian state.
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