CAIRO — The Egyptian security forces began an intense arrest campaign the evening of April 21 aimed at nipping in the bud the second wave of popular protests against the Egyptian government's ceding the islands of Tiran and Sanafir to Saudi Arabia.

On April 25, 16 human rights organizations — most notably the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights and the Cairo Institute for Human Rights — issued a statement denouncing the arrest campaign, stressing that police had arrested at least 100 people in eight provinces. The statement described the arrest campaign as an attempt to intimidate and thwart the protests planned for April 25.

In the same context, the Egyptian presidential office denied a story published in Al-Shorouk newspaper April 20 about a meeting where President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said that he would not accept a repetition of the Land Friday demonstrations that took place April 15. During a speech commemorating the 34th anniversary of the Sinai Peninsula’s liberation, Sisi vowed to confront any attempt to break the law or compromise state institutions.

On April 25, upon touring the streets and squares of Cairo and Giza, Al-Monitor noted that a large number of police officers dressed in both civilian attire and official uniforms had sealed off the journalists' union headquarters and stepped up their presence in Tahrir Street in Dokki and in areas where the Egypt is Not for Sale campaign said that protests would be held. Police seemed ready to confront anyone they suspected of intending to protest.