TORA, Egypt — If the first week of 2014 is any indication of what activists may face in the third year since the uprising that forced Hosni Mubarak from power, government critics and their lawyers say the road before them is long and treacherous, as Egypt’s security state is criminalizing any dissent found along its political road map paved with the slogan “stability and security.”

The activists netted in recent crackdowns by the authorities who ousted President Mohammed Morsi had played leading roles in mobilizing for the toppling of Mubarak, and against the Islamist rule of Morsi. Now, they are facing prison for protesting, this time against a government that came to power after massive rallies, which has since enacted a law banning spontaneous protest and designated its largest opposition group, the Muslim Brotherhood, “terrorists.”

Today, a number of activists and journalists are sitting in cells inside the notorious Tora prison — an expansive dust-hued compound about 45 minutes south of Cairo’s center — snarled in a justice system that remains creaky, cloudy and driven by politics. High-profile arrests, trumped-up charges and public defamation campaigns have successfully restored fear and disengaged the public from protesting, with few supporters attending recently scheduled hearings.

Just a handful of activists sat outside the Cairo appellate court at the Tora prison on Jan. 8, awaiting the scheduled appeal of three prominent activists sentenced to prison for violating the new protest law. But they and a dozen defense attorneys found the black gates shut. Judges had moved or postponed the day’s cases without notification. Lawyers for more than 300 Muslim Brotherhood members left for downtown, where their hearings had been moved.