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  • [protesters chanting]

  • In September, Egyptians did something that no one really

  • saw coming:

  • They defied Egypt's strongman, President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi,

  • by going out in public and calling

  • on him to step down.

  • But the bold outburst was short-lived.

  • [shooting]

  • Police hit back with tear gas and rubber bullets,

  • then random searches, road closings,

  • and more than 2,000 arrests.

  • It was the largest sweep since Sisi came to power in 2014.

  • The message was clear:

  • Dissent will not be tolerated.

  • And to crush his opposition, Sisi

  • called on what has become his standard playbook.

  • [shooting]

  • [screams]

  • While visiting with President Trump at the U.N.,

  • Sisi blamed his favorite boogeyman, the Islamists.

  • But the arrests back in Egypt have been wide-ranging

  • and include pro-democracy advocates, academics,

  • lawyers and journalists.

  • Human rights lawyer Mahienour El-Massry

  • was arrested in front of a courthouse.

  • Her sister said she was forced into a vehicle

  • by plainclothes officers.

  • The way she was arrested, it was really, really shocking

  • because it was almost a kidnap.”

  • Alaa Abdel Fattah, a secular blogger,

  • was arrested while he was in jail.

  • He was on probation for a previous conviction.

  • The regime years ago decided to make symbols out

  • of specific people and so charge at them whenever

  • they want to set an example to other revolutionaries

  • or other opposition, and so on.”

  • And in many cases, those arrested

  • appear to have been plucked at random, like this young man.

  • Witnesses said Ahmed El Agroudy and two friends

  • were arrested while walking to their car after a night out.

  • “I felt helpless.

  • We weren't allowed to go into the police station.

  • Please just let us see him.”

  • Now, many face arbitrary charges like terrorism

  • and spreading fake news.

  • The protests appear to have been instigated

  • by this man, Mohamed Ali.

  • Ali is a contractor, who worked for the military,

  • and says he's now living in self-imposed exile in Spain.

  • He claims the government robbed him.

  • And he's used his rants to try to appeal

  • to everyday Egyptians, people struggling to make ends meet.

  • Ali accuses Sisi and the military

  • of squandering the country's money on vanity projects.

  • Sisi's response: so what?

  • Across Egypt, images of the spreading unrest

  • were widely shared over social media.

  • The police tried to block it.

  • This video appears to show police officers shooting

  • at a woman who was filming from her balcony.

  • [shooting]

  • [screams]

  • And shortly after this man live-streamed the clashes

  • unfolding in front of him, he posted one final message

  • that day.

  • Within a week, Cairo, normally loud and beyond busy,

  • was on total lockdownsilenced.

  • Except for this, a well-organized, pro-Sisi rally.

  • Sisi's playbook seems to be working, for now.

[protesters chanting]

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