Political Detention in Egypt

    The widespread arrests and humiliation of prisoners we are currently witnessing in Egypt are not at all a new phenomenon for Islamists. In fact, it can be argued that the takfirist ideology was raised due to the severe torture and humiliation suffered by the Muslim Brothers, or anyone suspected of being affiliated with them, during the 1960s. One of the most notorious torture facilities at the time was the martial prison in East Cairo. Eventually destroyed, the prison stood next to Rabea Square, the site of the Massacre against the pro-Brotherhood protesters in August 2013. The extreme psychological pressure employed by prison services against the suspects led them to believe that such insults to their Islamic” beliefs” could only be perpetrated by infidels. It is legitimate to ask, then, about the implications of those acts on the present and near future.