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Reuters
Reuters
CAIRO (Reuters) – Egypt plans to launch a national political dialogue in the coming weeks, a test of whether authorities are prepared to ease a crackdown on dissent that critics say is the most severe in the country’s recent history. General-turned-president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has steadily tightened his grip since he toppled Islamist Mohamed Mursi – the first democratically elected head of state in Egypt’s modern history – in 2013 after mass protests against his rule. Since Sisi came to power in 2014, authorities have said that the crackdown on dissent and freedoms has been directed at terro…