Military explains 2011 Sisi picture with activists

The official spokesperson for the Armed Forces offered an explanation for a controversial picture that has been widely circulating on social media, depicting Head of the Armed Forces Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and several activists together.

The statement, issued on Facebook Tuesday, included a warning against propagating rumors and misusing information and pictures of military leaders.

The spokesperson said the picture was taken following the January 2011 revolution, during a series of meetings held between members of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) and various leaders of political youth movements in Egypt at the time.

The picture depicts Sisi and Major General Mahmoud Hegazy with activists such as Wael Ghonim, Asmaa Mahfouz and Ahmed Maher, who was sentenced Sunday to three years in prison and a fine of LE50,000 for crimes under the recently-issued Protest Law.

Mahfouz, one of the founding members of the April 6 Youth Movement, and Ghonim, one of the founders of the Khaled Said Facebook page, were catapulted to fame during the January 25 uprising. Not long after, they were victims of smear campaigns, which accused them of serving foreign agendas.

The statement explains that at the time, Sisi was head of military intelligence and a representative of SCAF in national dialogue with various political groups and figures, adding that the Armed Forces held public meetings during 2011 concerning Egypt’s future, which did not disclude any factions.

“The military institution bore the brunt of the first transitional period out of its national and historical responsibility towards the great Egyptian people,” the statement read, “and no one can deny its role in protecting the country from violent schemes and chaos during that critical time in Egypt’s history.”

The statement urged the media to maintain accuracy and professionalism in dealing with pictures and information circulated on social media about the Armed Forces and its leaders.