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Cairo cracks down on rivals ahead of presidential vote

As the Egyptian presidential elections approach in June 2018, members of political parties are arrested, including lawyer and former presidential candidate Khaled Ali, who may run for president again.
Egyptian lawyer and ex-Presidential candidate Khaled Ali, speaks during an interview with Reuters at his office in Cairo, Egypt, June 7, 2017. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany - RTX39HJT
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CAIRO — As Egypt’s presidential election scheduled for June 2018 approaches, Egyptian authorities arrested between mid-April and June 1 at least 44 people belonging to various political parties and movements in 17 governorates, according to statistics published June 2 by the Freedom for the Good Guys campaign. The campaign, launched in January 2014, works to defend political prisoners.

In an official statement May 19, the Interior Ministry said security services “shut down five social media accounts where the sites' administrators had created posts inciting sabotage acts against institutions and citizens.”

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