[This is a roundup of news articles and other materials circulating on Egypt and reflects a wide variety of opinions. It does not reflect the views of the Egypt Page Editors or of Jadaliyya. You may send your own recommendations for inclusion in each week`s roundup to egypt@jadaliyya.com by Sunday night of every week.]
Political Rights
Syndicate refers 4 doctors to disciplinary committee for propagating device to cure AIDS, Hep C Egypt’s Doctors Syndicate referred four doctors to an internal disciplinary committee for illegally propagating a device designed by the Armed Forces that would allegedly cure AIDS and Hepatitis C, according to syndicate board member Tarek Kamel.
Amnesty International: Forced disappearances integral to Egyptian state policy Hundreds of Egyptians have been forcibly disappeared since 2015, with many having been subjected to severe torture and unfair trials, according to an Amnesty International report published on Wednesday.
Amnesty International holds flash mob in protest against Egypt disappearances Amnesty International staged a flash mob demonstration in Rome on Wednesday, the same day of the release of its report on "hundreds" of enforced disappearances in Egypt.
Journalist Ismail Alexandrani detained for another 45 days A Cairo criminal court on Sunday extended journalist and researcher Ismail Alexandrani’s pretrial detention for another forty-five days.
National Council of Human Rights official banned from travel Nasser Amin, a prominent member of the state-backed National Council for Human Rights said on Thursday that he was turned back at the airport as he headed to Beirut.
Al-Shaab editor-in-chief and journalist sentenced to 3-year prison terms for defamation A Cairo Criminal Court sentenced Al-Shaab Editor-in-Chief Magdy Hussein and one of the newspaper’s journalists to three years in prison for publishing content judged to have defamed Supreme Constitutional Court judges.
Court postpones hearing to review Hossam Bahgat, Gamal Eid asset freeze to August 15 A Cairo Criminal Court postponed the hearing to review the asset freeze of human rights defenders Hossam Baghat, Gamal Eid and four others to 15 August. The case has previously been adjourned three times, once to 20 April and again on 23 May and 17 July.
Chronicle of a civil society, chronicle of a death foretold Gamal Eid examines his situational similarity to the plot of Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s “Chronicle of a Death Foretold.”
Court rejects novelist Ahmed Naji`s appeal to suspend 2-year sentence A Cairo court rejected Ahmed Naji`s request for a stay of execution on his two-year prison sentence, of which he has served six months, on Saturday.
Understanding Arab Comics Jonathan Guyer reviews Muqtatafat: A Comics Anthology Featuring Artists from the Middle East Region, thoroughly situating the anthology in its political, historical, and artistic context.
10 defendants sentenced to 3 years in prison for Tiran and Sanafir protests Ten defendants were sentenced to three years in prison on Thursday for protesting the Egyptian government’s decision to hand over the two Red Sea islands Tiran and Sanafir to Saudi Arabia in April.
All defendants implicated in assault of Coptic woman, sectarian violence in Minya released Eight defendants accused of rioting and violence in connection to a sectarian incident in which an elderly Coptic Christian woman was stripped and assaulted in Minya in May were released Wednesday night.
Court reasoning accuses Andalus Institute of harming national security Director of the Andalus Institute Ahmed Samih spread false news about religious discrimination in Egypt, according to the court reasoning, which was released on Monday.
Police officers convicted of manslaughter in death of Talaat Shabeeb Luxor Criminal Court convicted First Lieutenant Hani Samir and five low-ranking officers on Tuesday of manslaughter in connection to the death of detainee Talaat Shabeeb in Luxor Police Station.
Prosecution to investigate police assault on MP A judicial source in Nasr City said on Friday that prosecution has started investigating an incident of police assault on a member of parliament in the Nasr City police station.
Cassation Court vice president elected head of Judges Club Mohamed Abdel Mohsen, the vice president of Egypt’s Court of Cassation, was elected head of its Judges Club, the committee overseeing the elections announced on Saturday.
Objective notes on Hesham Geneina’s corruption report A report on corruption by the Central Auditing Authority stirred deep controversy in Egypt and led to the dismissal of its president, Hesham Geneina, and his prosecution in June on the charge of spreading false news. With the report made available in full, we can now attempt an objective, systematic evaluation of its claim that corruption cost the country 600 billion LE between 2012 and 2015.
Student sentenced to a year in prison for leaking high school exams A Giza court sentenced a student to one year in prison on Saturday for running a Facebook page that leaked high school exam questions.
Unified or dictated? New constraints on Friday sermons anger imams Last Saturday the Ministry of Endowments announced the formation of a committee to draft Friday sermons that will be distributed to imams across the country.
Economy
Tourist arrivals to Egypt down by half in May Tourist arrivals to Egypt declined by 51.7 percent year-on-year in May, with just 431,800 visitors compared to 894,600 in the same month last year, according to the latest figures from the state statistics agency.
Contrary to market expectations, CBE holds pound steady against dollar Egypt’s Central Bank held the official value of the pound steady at 8.78 LE to the dollar in its Tuesday currency auction. The decision came as a surprise to analysts, who predicted a devaluation after Central Bank of Egypt Governer Tarek Amer said Egypt’s focus on artificially boosting the value of the pound had been “a grave error.”
Egypt`s industrial production index drops by 2.9 per cent - state statistics agency The industrial production index of Egypt`s public sector dropped by 2.9 percent to reach 144.1 billion LE in the 2014/15 fiscal year, compared to 148.4 billion LE in the previous year, the official statistics agency said.
Foreign Relations
Egyptian media prematurely declares overthrow of Erdogan Egypt’s daily newspapers were quick to report on Saturday that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had been overthrown by the country’s military although it was clear by the morning that the coup attempt that started on Friday evening had failed.
Foreign Ministry denies Egypt blocked UN Security Council statement on Turkey The Egyptian Foreign Ministry issued a statement on Saturday denying that Egypt had blocked a UN Security Council statement condemning the attempted coup in Turkey, as has been reported in international media.
Turkish deputy prime minister: Turkey could improve relations with Egypt if Morsi spared Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmuş made an overture toward reconciliation with Egypt on Wednesday, asserting that any amelioration would depend on Egypt blocking the execution of former President Mohamed Morsi.
Foreign Ministry to families of kidnapped workers in Libya: If you get any updates, let us know Six Egyptians kidnapped in Libya were returned home to Daqahlia Governorate on Monday, but the families of seven others are angry that Egypt`s Foreign Ministry has failed to get any new information on the detention of their loved ones.
Israeli papers welcome Shoukry’s visit Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry arrived in Jerusalem two days ago to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in the first official visit by an Egyptian foreign minister to Israel in nine years.
Egypt warms up to Israel Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry’s visit to Israel has more than the Palestinian issue at its core.
New Israeli ambassador arrives in Cairo Israel’s new ambassador to Egypt has arrived in Cairo on Sunday to take up his post, after his predecessor had asked to return to Egypt only two years into his posting.
Egypt looks forward to establishment of African free trade zone - Sisi President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said on Sunday during the African Union assembly that Egypt looks forward to the completion of negotiations on the establishment of an African free trade zone.
Domestic Security
Two policemen killed in North Sinai blast Two policemen were killed in a roadside bombing in North Sinai town of al-Arish on Monday, Egypt`s interior ministry said.
Egypt president extends state of emergency in parts of Sinai for three months Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi extended on Tuesday the state of emergency imposed in several parts of the Sinai Peninsula for another three months.
From Jadaliyya Egypt
الأبيض الذي يفزعني دائماً Visual artist Mohamad Abu Naja reflects on the importance and influence of the Arab Spring.