CAIRO — The release of Ahmed Ezz — steel tycoon and one of the most prominent figures in the [former President Hosni] Mubarak regime — sparked another round of lamentations by the Jan. 25 revolutionaries that the old state is making a comeback. Those lamentations are mostly incorrect for four distinct reasons:
- Given the conditions of the country and the unprecedented state of repression it has been experiencing, its fair to say that we are currently seeing an attempt at creating a new state that makes the Mubarak state look like a pack of harmless puppies.
- The release of those businessmen and the attempts of reconciliation with them was jump-started back during the [deposed President Mohammed] Morsi presidency, so this is not new.
- Ahmed Ezz was not declared innocent, but rather was released because he had hit the legal limit of being in jail while being tried. He still has a number of court cases against him and no one wants to be associated with him.
- There is already a secret tug of war between the old regime backers and the supporters of the new order.
