Beaming, President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi sat before an audience next to a young TV presenter who praised him for his transparency and straight talk. Egypt’s general-turned-president has deftly maneuvered his way to being a leader through whom nearly everything is funneled, sidestepping state institutions that are largely weak anyway. “It’s clear that he has no trust in most state institutions,” said Negad Borai, a prominent rights lawyer who is among a number of activists banned from travel. In the complaint, he referred to the agency by its former, but still widely used name, “State Security,” rather than “National Security,” as it has been called since 2011. “Do we have State Security?” el-Sissi asked his interior minister with a mocking smile.

Source: Egypt Independent May 20, 2017 06:33 UTC