Dozens of activists arrested ahead of COP27 climate summit
Egyptian security forces have arrested nearly 70 people ahead of the COP27 climate summit in connection with plans for protests, Reuters reported.
The newswire notes that some people were detained on charges such as “spreading false news” after sharing content on a Facebook page calling for demonstrations around the summit.
The report further noted that in the “ongoing crackdown ahead of a COP27 climate summit” Indian environmental activist Ajit Rajagopal was also detained while on a peaceful march from Cairo to Sharm el-Sheikh, where the event is being held.
The Guardian also said that such events highlight the “daily repression and surveillance faced by ordinary Egyptians”, noting that the right to protest and free speech have been eroded since the Arab spring, and the subsequent takeover by current president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.
It noted that the crackdown on dissent could “potentially embarrass” the el-Sisi regime during COP27. Bloomberg has a feature about the climate impacts already affecting Egypt, noting that the nation “is almost 2C hotter today than it was at the start of the 20th century”.
Meanwhile, Bloomberg has an article headlined: “Egypt climate summit won’t be ‘inflection point’ for 1.5C target.” And Bloomberg also carries a “big take” feature, titled: “Egypt’s barren fields are dire bellwether for climate summit.”
