The files have started flowing out of Egypt’s dreaded state security headquarters, part of the post-uprising rush to excavate some of the state’s darkest corners. 

 

There are lists of informants from inside the Muslim Brotherhood and the names of judges who helped rig local elections. Even for young activists who knew they were being monitored, the level of detail has been sobering: one found a picture of herself at a party; another discovered transcripts of text messages exchanged with her husband; a third leafed through a biography of his famous grandfather, a former Brotherhood leader.