Egypt Ends Domestic Spying Agency, But Creates New One

Egyptian security forces confront demonstrators outside the interior ministry in Cairo. Since the military coup on Feb. 10-11, 2011, there has been no real change in the country. a photo by Pan-African News Wire File Photos on Flickr.

March 15, 2011

Egypt Ends Domestic Spying Agency, but Creates New One

By NEIL MacFARQUHAR

CAIRO — Egypt on Tuesday disbanded the state security organization, a force of widely loathed agents whose blatant spying and use of torture helped drive the public revolt that led to the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak.

The announcement represented another milestone for protesters demanding that the most dreaded aspects of the former government be dismantled.

“We are now on the right path, moving from one victory to another,” Essam el-Erian, a leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, declared to widespread applause after sharing the news at a diverse political forum.

In the same statement in which the military government said it had disbanded the organization, officials also said that a new national security agency would replace the old one. This led to some suspicion that this was an exercise in creative rebranding rather than wholesale change.

“This has to happen within a comprehensive plan to reform the Interior Ministry,” said Hossam Bahgat, executive director of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights. “If all the other desks, besides those that specialize in counterterrorism and espionage, have been abolished, then this will be a huge first step.”

The announcement came less than two weeks after the widespread public firing of state security offices across the country. Pictures of the narrow cells and torture instruments found inside shocked Egyptians, while the discovery of files detailing private lives of media figures and political activists confirmed suspicions that the agency had eyes and ears everywhere.

The official announcement carried by the state news agency said that the new security organization would be guided by the principles of human rights, serving “the nation without interfering in the lives of citizens or their right to exercise their political rights.” Its main tasks will be safeguarding domestic security and fighting terrorism, according to the statement, with officers to be announced in the coming days.

The former head of the organization has already been arrested on suspicion of unleashing violence against peaceful protesters, killing about 300 during the 18 days that led to Mr. Mubarak’s fall on Feb. 11. In addition, 47 agents were detained on charges of destroying documents.

In perhaps the most high-profile trial involving state security, two officers are accused of murdering Khalid Sayid, an online activist whose brutal beating death last year fueled an initial burst of outrage among citizens.

The military government plans to hold a referendum on Saturday about constitutional changes that will speed legislative and presidential elections this year. Most political groups, with the notable exception of the Muslim Brotherhood, object to the calendar as too fast.

As a result there was some suspicion that the government made the announcement about disbanding the agency now to feed the impression that change is happening, so the public will support the referendum.

“This is one of the main demands of the revolution, and it will help to sell the rest of the package,” said Hani Shukrallah, the editor of Ahram Online. “The army is determined to hold this referendum on a timetable which practically everyone except the Muslim Brotherhood opposes.”

The United States is widely believed to have engaged with Egyptian state security in the process of rendition, subcontracting the torture of terrorism suspects to countries where there were fewer restrictions on torture. Washington also has a checkered reputation among democracy advocates here both for its long support for Mr. Mubarak’s autocratic rule and for the Obama administration’s initial lukewarm response to the uprising.

Asked about the disbanding of the secret police during her two-day visit to Cairo, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said that she welcomed the news.

“I applaud the announcement today of the dismantling of the existing state security apparatus and the rebuilding of one that will be responsive to the needs of Egyptians,” Mrs. Clinton said at a news conference.

She announced an expanded package of American aid and loans for private investment aimed at reviving the country’s economy. Mrs. Clinton said that it was up to the Egyptians to decide on the form of political change here, but that the aid should help.

“We know that political reforms must be matched by economic reforms,” she said. “There must be jobs and rising opportunity for all.”

Liam Stack and Steven Lee Myers contributed reporting.