Mohamad Elmasry
Mohamad Elmasry, chair of the media and journalism program at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, told Al Jazeera that the popularity of Ali's videos and the protests they sparked posed a "legitimate threat" to el-Sisi.
"Millions of people have watched his videos, while his anti-Sisi hashtags have gone viral," Elmasry told Al Jazeera. "This is something that is a legitimate threat to the el-Sisi government - if it wasn't a legitimate threat, then el-Sisi wouldn't have come out and responded directly to Mohamed Ali at last week's youth conference," said Elmasry, adding it was "unprecedented" for el-Sisi "to be put on the defensive like that inside Egypt by an Egyptian".
"No one shouted bread, freedom, social justice like in 2011, they escalated straight to 'Leave' from the first minute," Nael Shama, a Cairo-based political analyst told AFP news agency, adding: "This is the first time people take to the streets in many years but I am not sure it will be the last."
President Mohammed Morsi dies in court
Anti-El Sissi demonstrations came three months after the overthrown President Mohammed Morsi has died on June 17 during a Kangaroo court hearing in Cairo.
Mohammed Morsi died after collapsing during a session in court.
He was buried quickly in Cairo on June 18. "He was buried in Medinat Nasr, in eastern Cairo, with his family present," said Abdel Moneim Abdel Maksoud, one of his lawyers.
Tellingly, the UN has called for an independent investigation into whether Morsi's detention in solitary confinement contributed to his death.
The UN human rights office called for a "prompt, impartial, thorough and transparent investigation" into death of Morsi, who had been in prolonged solitary confinement. The probe should "examine whether the conditions of his detention had an impact on his death," UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Rupert Colville said.
Correspondent Ruth Michaelson in Cairo told DW that authorities were "increasing security" across Egypt amid fears that "violent offshoots of the Muslim Brotherhood may take action following the incident."
Divisive rule
The Morsi was democratically elected in 2012, one year after the popular uprising that ended the rule of longtime US-client dictator Hosni Mubarak. He spent just one year in office. He was toppled in July 2013 by General Abdel Fattah el-Sissi who later assumed the title of Field Marshal.
Morsi and thousands of other members of the Brotherhood were jailed in the crackdown that followed.
The former president has faced court several times since then on charges that include plotting terror attacks and spying for Iran. June 17's session was part of a retrial over allegations of espionage connected to Palestinian militant group Hamas. He was also serving a 20-year sentence related to the killing of protesters during 2012 demonstrations, as well as a life sentence for espionage for Qatar. He had denied all charges.
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