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Egyptian researchers must choose between forced exile and arrest
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"Egyptian students abroad are the most dangerous group of emigrants." This statement by Egypt’s immigration minister, Nabila Makram, is a good indication of her government’s policy regarding academics abroad. It came after Egypt, under the military regime of Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, had successfully tightened its grip on academic research at home. It is now working on expanding that grip to academics abroad, often using security forces, intelligence services and the infamous Supreme State Security Prosecution (SSSP), and even the country’s embassies.

This tightening grip has already found numerous victims, including Walid Salem, Ahmed Samir, Patrick Zaki, and others. Their arrests demonstrate the arbitrariness of the Egyptian security system. Any Egyptian researcher abroad faces the risk of being arrested upon return to their home country. This presents a dilemma: return and face the possibility of arrest, or stay abroad and live in exile.

As an Egyptian researcher myself and a colleague of some of those arrested, I have opted for the latter: to be exiled from my country to avoid the regime’s grasp. However, not everyone is as privileged as I am to have this option. After all, Egyptians and others from the global South have restricted freedom of movement and face numerous challenges to obtain visas and the right to stay in other countries, especially in the West.

Even if you manage to escape Egypt, there is still a large chance that the regime will follow you. This was the case with Taqadum Al-Khatib, an Egyptian researcher residing in Germany who, like me, has opted to expose the regime and continue living in exile.

Al-Khatib’s actions led to the regime targeting his family, a tactic which, according to the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHI), which has documented at least 12 such cases since 2016, has been widely used to intimidate dissidents abroad. Al-Khatib was subjected to widespread defamation campaigns in the Egyptian media and intimidation attempts by the Egyptian Embassy in Berlin.

Crackdown on research

Another dilemma Egyptian academics face is the choice of research fields, bearing in mind their political implications. Those living abroad are often faced with three options: expose the government’s abusive practices; praise its achievements; or not mention Egypt at all and hope for the best. After all, the regime does not arrest everyone, only those who may pose a danger to it.

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