Cold Open

It’s just past midnight on January 29th, 2011 in a crowded jail north of Cairo.

Political prisoners fill the jail cells, detained during recent protests against President Hosni Mubarak’s tyrannical regime. But at this late hour, hardly a sound can be heard within the prison.

Among the jail’s sleeping inmates is Mohamed Morsi, a prominent member of the Muslim Brotherhood, an organization deeply involved in the uprising against Mubarak. Lying inside a bare cell, the sixty-year-old Morsi has fallen into an uneasy slumber.

But a distant disturbance soon awakes him. Morsi hastily puts on his glasses and presses his ear against the cold cell wall, straining to hear the growing cacophony of voices.

As the muffled voices become clearer, Morsi finally understands what’s happening: some of the inmates are attempting to break free, and the prison guards are struggling to contain the commotion.

Just as Morsi comes to this realization, acrid fumes of tear gas invade his cell.

Gasping for breath, Morsi raises clenched fists and pounds on the cell door, his voice echoing hoarsely as he desperately cries out for help.

Morsi’s calls are soon answered, and he is one of the thousands of prisoners freed by a group of armed inmates. A series of increasingly bloody protests will ravage the country over the next two weeks, fueling the growing revolution against Hosni Mubarak’s despotic rule, and forcing the President to step down. The following year, it will be Mohamed Morsi that becomes Egypt’s first democratically elected president, but it won’t be long before he suffers the same fate as Mubarak, and is ousted from office on July 3rd, 2013.

Introduction

From Noiser and Airship, I’m Lindsay Graham and this is History Daily.

History is made every day. On this podcast—every day—we tell the true stories of the people and events that shaped our world.

Today is July 3rd, 2013: A Military Coup Crushes Egyptian Democracy.

Act One

It’s June 29th, 2012, on a stage in Tahrir Square in downtown Cairo; one year before Mohamed Morsi will be forced to step down as President of Egypt.

A crowd of thousands bursts into thunderous applause as a stocky, bespectacled man in a baggy suit confidently strides across the platform. An inscrutable smile plays on Morsi’s face as he surveys the animated crowd from his ornate podium. He raises his hands in gratitude, patiently waiting for the cheers to die down. Meanwhile, men in dark suits and sunglasses file onto the stage, strategically positioning themselves around him, protecting the man who has just become Egypt’s first democratically elected leader.

Over the past year, Egypt has witnessed dramatic changes in its political landscape. For over three decades, the country was ruled by President Hosni Mubarak. Years under the autocrat’s iron thumb, simmering discontent against his oppressive regime boiled over. For weeks, the nation was engulfed by fervent demonstrations against his leadership. These protests compelled Mubarak to step down in February of 2011. And since then, a council of high-ranking military officials have assumed control over Egypt, declaring that they would stay in power until proper elections were held.

So, over the last few months, Egypt conducted its first-ever democratic presidential elections, and Mohamed Morsi emerged as the Muslim Brotherhood’s candidate. Though a longtime senior member of the organization, Morsi was still an unlikely pick, and only selected after the group’s first choice was disqualified from the race.

But Morsi rose to the occasion. After a rushed campaign, he won around twenty five percent of the vote in the first round of the presidential elections. In the next and final round, he went head to head with Egypt’s former prime minister under Mubarak. And five days ago, the results of the election were announced, declaring Morsi victorious, and sparking frenzied celebrations all across Egypt’s public squares.

But there are still lingering concerns about the military’s willingness to transfer power to the newly elected head of state. Many worry that the council will be reluctant to relinquish control. Already, the military leaders have dissolved the country’s first freely elected parliament, and issued sweeping directives giving them legislative, military, and financial control.

But today, in Tahrir Square, Morsi is here to publicly assert his authority as he takes a symbolic oath of office. In a rousing speech to the gathered crowd, Morsi emphasizes that his authority as president stems from Egypt’s people, and he insists that no institution in the country is above them. Stepping out from behind the podium, he declares that he is not afraid of his own people. Then, he shrugs off his jacket to prove it, revealing that he has no bulletproof vest underneath.

As the crowd cheers wildly, Morsi goes on to vow to work for the release of civilians arrested during the revolution. He speaks briefly about wanting to improve Egypt’s foreign relations, and for those worried about the Muslim Brotherhood’s religious leanings, he tactfully promises to establish a modern civil state for the Muslims and Christians of Egypt.

The end of Morsi’s speech is met with resounding applause. The crowd eagerly vies for a closer glimpse of the president as a group of burly men escort him off the stage and into a waiting car. But before ducking into the open car door, Morsi glances back at the crowd one last time and pumps his fist in the air. Tahrir square explodes in a deafening roar of chants and cheers as Morsi’s car pulls away.

While Morsi did not explicitly mention the military in his stirring address, his veiled reproach of their overreaches will not go unnoticed. Over the course of the next year, the power struggle between Morsi and the military council will only escalate. In the next few months, the newly-elected president will reinstate the parliament that the council had disbanded. And he will also ask key leaders of the armed forces to resign, and declare that the directives limiting presidential powers be annulled. But it won’t be long before Morsi's exercise of power will go a step too far.

In November 2012, Morsi will pass a sweeping decree placing him above judicial oversight and awarding him near-absolute authority. This act will result in widespread unrest, stoking citizens’ fears that the country has only traded one dictator for another. Once again, thousands of people will crowd in Tahrir Square, but this time, rather than celebrating President Mohamed Morsi, they will be demanding that he step down.

Act Two

It’s July 3rd, 2013 in Cairo, Egypt.

Behind a tall wooden lectern stands a man in a decorated beige army uniform, flanked by influential figures from various sectors of Egyptian society. The chief of the Egyptian army, General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, briefly glances at the impressive group beside him, before leaning into his microphone and making the momentous announcement that Mohamed Morsi has been removed from office as the President of Egypt.

In the single year since Morsi was elected, he has already lost favor with key parts of the government and much of the public. After the military council was reluctant to transfer power to the new president, tensions arose between the two factions immediately, inflamed by Morsi calling the country’s dissolved parliament back into session just a month into his term. Although Egypt’s Higher Constitutional Court hastily moved to halt Morsi’s decision, the challenge to the army council’s authority did not go forgotten. Nor did Morsi make any show of regret. Instead, he further attracted the ire of the council when he unilaterally ordered senior members of the military to retire.

The public’s reaction to Morsi’s actions was deeply divided. His supporters applauded him for his bold resistance against the powerful military. But other segments of society grew increasingly dissatisfied with his failure to revive the faltering economy, and they condemned his inability to promote human rights and social justice.

Then, in November 2012, Morsi issued a decree granting him legal immunity for his actions, and naming himself the guardian of Egypt’s revolution, giving him broad powers that superseded all courts of law. This move dramatically contributed to rising unrest. As protests flared up across the country, Morsi tried defending the decree as an interim measure until the constituent assembly finished drafting the nation’s constitution.

But his claims had little effect; Morsi and his supporters were already outnumbered. And now his critics accused him of unfairly consolidating power and effectively crowning himself as Egypt’s new pharaoh. The country’s highest judges reinforced this outcry, criticizing the decree as an “unprecedented assault on the independence of the judiciary and its rulings.”

Over the next few months, violent clashes between Morsi's supporters and opponents ensued. Thousands gathered in Tahrir Square and outside the presidential palace to demand that Morsi step down, and a petition for his resignation collected a staggering 22 million signatures.

Then as the protests grew increasingly bloody, the military decided to issue a 48-hour ultimatum to Morsi on July 1st, insisting that he meet the demands of the Egyptian public or else the generals would impose their own “road map” out of the crisis. But President Morsi held his ground. In a late night television address the day before the deadline expired, Morsi vowed not to resign, promising to defend the legitimacy of his elected office with his life. Now as the clock inches closer to the deadline, tensions in Egypt have risen to an all-time high. There has been widespread speculation about whether the military would actually follow through on their ultimatum.

But addressing the nation on live television, General Sisi allays those doubts. He outlines the military's plan for the future, which includes the formation of an interim government and calling for early elections — though Sisi is careful to emphasize that the army is only fulfilling its civil duty to the people of the nation, assuring viewers that the military has no intentions of seizing power for themselves.

Sisi's address, broadcast nationwide by the state television network, sends shockwaves through the country. The tacit approval of the formidable panel flanking the army chief makes the news of Morsi’s ouster all the more explosive to the Egyptian public. The announcement triggers a joyous celebration in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, where a spectacular display of fireworks takes place and people flood the streets, waving flags, drinking, and dancing until the early hours of the morning.

But as the military once again assumes control of the country, new problems arise. In 2014, General Sisi will assume the presidency after winning 96% of the vote—an outcome indicative of flawed elections that many will criticize as rigged or unfair. Throughout his presidency, Sisi will split public opinion with some Egyptians viewing him as a strong leader who brought stability to the nation, and others seeing him as an increasingly authoritarian and repressive dictator, not any dissimilar to his predecessors.

But while Sisi’s star rises, Morsi’s troubles will be far from over. After his humiliating ousting, he and his close aides will be held incommunicado by the military. And, as General Sisi's regime cracks down on the Muslim Brotherhood, state prosecutors will bring multiple charges against Morsi, forcing the disgraced leader to confront a daunting legal battle. 

Act Three

It’s November 4th, 2013 in Cairo, two years after Mohamed Morsi was overthrown.

Inside a packed high-security courtroom, journalist Peter Hessler finds the last available seat at the back of the room. As he settles in, the muffled chatter of the spectators dies down and the judge impatiently calls the court to order for the first day of Muhammad Morsi’s trial.

The former president is up against several charges, including the detention and torture of protestors, leading an illegal political organization, and colluding with militants to mastermind mass outbreaks from Egyptian jails. But Morsi is defiant even to the bitter end.

Prohibited from carrying a cell phones, camera, or audio recorder into the courtroom, Peter hastily scribbles in a notebook as the judge starts reciting the court formalities. But as the journalist flips a page, a grating voice interrupts the judge's monologue. Startled, Peter looks up to see Morsi confined in a barred metal cage, defiantly proclaiming in Arabic, "I am the President of the Republic!"

Again and again, Morsi will repeat this phrase, indignant. His shouts will be so desperate and incessant that authorities will eventually sound-proof his cage, silencing the man who was once a source of hope for so many Egyptians.

In the following years, Morsi will be convicted and sentenced for various crimes by different courts. And as his appeals progress, he will appear increasingly weary, and in June 2019, Morsi will collapse and die in a Cairo courtroom, succumbing to a sudden heart attack.

The same year, Egypt will make constitutional changes that will allow General Sisi to extend his second term by two more years and permit him to seek another term in 2024. With results suspiciously high in Sisi’s favor for each election, most international observers and many Egyptians will consider Egypt’s experiment with democracy a lost dream, their hope extinguished after the military action that removed Mohamed Morsi on July 3rd, 2013.

Outro

Next on History Daily. July 4th, 1862. Inspiration strikes an Oxford professor during a leisurely boat ride on  the River Thames when he first tells a fantastical story that he’ll go on to publish under his pen name, Lewis Carroll.

From Noiser and Airship, this is History Daily, hosted, edited, and executive produced by me, Lindsay Graham.

Audio editing by Emily Burke.

Sound design by Mollie Baack.

Music by Lindsay Graham.

This episode is written and researched by Rhea Purohit.

Executive Producers are Alexandra Currie-Buckner for Airship, and Pascal Hughes for Noiser.