# Egypt's Ghosts

> Political prisoners and the 2011 revolution haunt Egypt's future.
- Title: Egypt's Ghosts · TIME | Shortify
- Summary: Political prisoners and the 2011 revolution haunt Egypt's future. Egypt's political prisoners, over 60,000 in total, remain imprisoned after the 2011…
- Keywords: egypt, political prisoners, tahrir square, arab spring, mohamed morsi, gen. el-sisi, rabaa massacre, military coup, revolution, egyptian government, military rule, news
- Source: TIME — https://time.com/article/2026/10/06/egypt-political-prisoners-tahrir-square-arab-spring
- Author: Abdelrahman ElGendy
- Published: 2026-10-06T10:00:00+00:00
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: egypt, political prisoners, tahrir square, arab spring, mohamed morsi, gen. el-sisi, rabaa massacre, military coup, revolution, egyptian government, military rule, news
## My Story
I was 15 when the revolution erupted in January 2011, a high school student just coming into political consciousness as the streets around me cracked open with possibilities for otherwise futures.
## The Coup
In July 2013, the military, led by Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi, overthrew Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood, who was Egypt’s first democratically elected president.
## The Rabaa Massacre
On Aug. 14, 2013, security forces stormed Rabaa al-Adawiya Square in eastern Cairo where supporters of Morsi had entrenched themselves in a sprawling sit-in demanding his reinstatement.
## The Bridge
On Jan. 28, 2011, the 'Friday of Rage' featured clashes atop Qasr El-Nil bridge between protesters and police.
## The Eagle Family
Egypt’s political order has remained under military rule since 1952, forming the Eagle Family that sanctifies military authority over civilian life.
## The Massacre
Security forces killed at least 1000 protesters at Rabaa al-Adawiya Square in eastern Cairo on Aug. 14, 2013, marking one of modern Egyptian history’s deadliest massacres.
## The Ghosts
Egypt’s prisons hold over 60,000 political prisoners, thousands of whom have spent more than a decade behind bars for a passing protest.
## The Bridge Rupture
On the bridge, protesters surged forward again after police pushed them back, creating a rupture that caused the police to flee.
## The Eagle Family's Fear
The Eagle Family, Egypt’s military and security apparatus, views the 2011 revolution as sacrilege that profaned their untouchable status.
## The Prisoner's Prayer
A prisoner would yell: 'Lift this suffering off us, us, us, us, us, us, O God!' from the opening in his cell door.

> Lift this suffering off us, us, us, us, us, us, O God!
## The Counter-Haunting
To summon the tender ghosts of revolution and do justice to the ghosts of state massacres requires unghosting the 'us, us, us' banished behind bars.
## The Bridge Rupture
On Jan. 28, 2011, protesters surged forward after police pushed them back, creating a rupture that caused the police to flee.
## The 2011 Revolution
The 2011 revolution was an unthinkable event that contradicted the ruling order’s conception of the relationship between civilians and eagles.
## The 2013 Coup
In July 2013, Gen. el-Sisi staged a coup and took over Egypt after the Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohamed Morsi won the 2012 elections.
## The Ghosts of Egypt
Egypt’s political prisoners, over 60,000 in total, remain imprisoned after the 2011 revolution despite the military's crackdown on dissent.
## Key takeaway

Egypt's political prisoners, over 60,000 in total, remain imprisoned after the 2011 revolution despite the military's crackdown on dissent.