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.
