FINANCIAL TIMES: The seemingly imminent release of Hosni Mubarak, the emblematic toppled tyrant of the unfortunately titled Arab Spring, summarises and symbolises the sense of counter-revolution triggered by last month’s coup d’état against President Mohamed Morsi, and the subsequent massacres of his Muslim Brotherhood supporters.
Already the army-backed government has revived essential elements of the Mubarak-era secret police, put generals back in charge of provincial government and reinstated martial law. The scenography of restoration is completed by the humiliating arrest of Mohamed Badie, the supreme spiritual guide of the Brotherhood – something Mr Mubarak never did.
General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Egypt’s army chief, seems intent on extirpating the Brotherhood, an 85-year-old movement that commands the loyalty of a quarter of the populace, and won five votes since Mr Mubarak was brought down by popular revolt in 2011… (more)
