[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
Egypt`s rights groups call for legal reform to combat `excessive` use of travel bans Two Egyptian rights groups warned on Wednesday against the marked increase in "arbitrary" travel bans used against activists, academics, intellectuals, media and political opposition figures over the past two years.
Egypt court accepts appeal against Ismail Alexandrani`s release, renews his detention A Cairo Court accepted the prosecution’s appeal against the release of journalist and researcher Ismail Alexandrani, and ordered his detention for forty-five more days pending investigation, according to lawyer Mokhtar Mounir.
TV host Amr al-Leithy is banned from international travel Television host Amr al-Leithy was barred from boarding a plane to Dubai on Thursday, making him the latest figure the Egyptian state has banned from international travel.
Authorities ban rights defender Aida Seif al-Dawla from traveling Egyptian authorities issued a travel ban against Aida Seif al-Dawla, one of the founders of Al-Nadeem Center for Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence, on Wednesday morning, according to a statement published on the center’s website.
Court freezes assets of rights defender Azza Soliman after banning her from travel Azza Soliman, head of the Center for Egyptian Women Legal Assistance was informed by The National Ahly Bank that the judge presiding over the foreign funding case had ordered an asset freeze on her account and the account of the legal firm she heads.
CPJ presents photojournalist Shawkan with Press Freedom Award, campaigns for his release The Committee to Protect Journalists, Amnesty International and a host of other rights organizations launched a global campaign on Tuesday in solidarity with imprisoned Egyptian photojournalist Mahmoud Abou Zeid, known as Shawkan. The campaign coincides with the presentation of the CPJ’s International Press Freedom Awards, of which Shawkan is an honoree.
Poet Fatma Naoot’s sentence reduced to six months An Egypt court accepted on Thursday writer and poet Fatma Naoot’s appeal against a three-year sentence handed down to her for contempt of religion, reducing it to six months.
Court rejects request to release novelist Ahmed Naji A Cairo court rejected on Saturday a request for a stay of execution of the two-year sentence handed down to novelist Ahmed Naji.
New list of prisoner pardons set to prioritize journalists and patients: NCHR member A new list of presidential pardons will focus on prisoners of conscience, journalists, those with severe health conditions, detainees over eighty years old and those who were not involved in violent acts, according to Egypt’s National Council for Human Rights.
Nubians continue sit-in against sale of their ancestral lands Tens of Nubians refused to end their sit-in on the Abu Simbel-Aswan highway in Aswan governorate and continued to protest against the sale of their ancestral land for the third day in a row.
Nubian protesters reject state’s offer of priority in Toshka Project sales The Nubian protest camp on the Aswan-Abu Simbel Road has rejected a government resolution that would grant priority to Nubians in the sale of land around Forkund village in exchange for an end to their protest.
Nubian protest camp blocks road for 4th day, negotiations with state authorities continue A Nubian protest camp has continued to block the Aswan-Abu Simbel Road for a fourth consecutive day as security forces prevented activists from continuing to their intended destination. In light of the standoff, the Governor of Aswan Magdy Hegazy hosted negotiations between Nubian elders and state authorities on Tuesday.
How the margins became the center: On protest, politics and April 6 Walid Shawky evaluates the April 6 Youth Movement, of which he remains a member. He recounts the April 6 Youth Movement’s vision and ideas, the way they organized, and their various stances and contradictions.
Investigations ongoing in Amereya torture victim`s death - lawyer The general prosecutor reopened investigations in the involvement of eight low-ranking policemen in the death of Magdy Makin, allegedly tortured to death inside a police station, according to his family`s defense lawyer Ali Al-Halawany.
Security forces shoot worker in the chest during house raid Worker Ahmed Mahmoud was admitted to the intensive care unit of Al-Haram hospital on Monday morning after being shot in the chest in his home in the Talibiya district of Giza. His family and friends say he was shot by security forces who raided the apartment for unknown reasons.
Cassation Court overturns life sentence against Morsi, orders retrial Sentences issued against twenty-two members of the Muslim Brotherhood group were suspended by the Cassation Court on Tuesday. Defendants, including former President Mohamed Morsi and Brotherhood Supreme Guide Mohamed Badie, were accused of espionage with the Palestinian Hamas group. The court ordered a retrial before a criminal court in a new constituency.
There is no room for dictatorship in Egypt - Sisi President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said there is no longer room for dictatorship in Egypt, in an interview with Portuguese TV network RTP Tuesday night.
Economy
Recap: 6 frequently asked questions about Egypt’s IMF loan On 11 November, the International Monetary Fund’s executive board approved a twelve billion USD loan to Egypt, the largest loan granted to an Arab country following the 2011 uprisings. Here’s a run-down of frequently asked questions about the loan.
Egypt’s Black Friday sales are popular, but challenged by country’s economic woes Egyptian shoppers filled major shopping malls in Cairo on Friday, as shops and e-commerce websites announced major “Black Friday” sales this year. Shoppers at Cairo Festival City, Mall of Arabia and City Stars reported that malls were packed by midday but complained that the sales were disappointing.
Foreign Relations
Al-Jazeera documentary on Egyptian conscripts reignites media war with Qatar A number of Egyptian TV hosts and journalists launched a campaign against Qatar over a documentary film produced by the Al-Jazeera channel that discusses the compulsory military service in Egypt.
Egypt denies sending military troops to Syria Egypt’s foreign ministry denied in a statement on Sunday the presence of Egyptian military troops in Syria, reiterating its commitment to non-intervention in internal affairs of other countries.
US lifts Egypt travel warning for Christmas, designates Europe potential risk zone The US State Department removed Egypt from its travel warning list for the upcoming holiday season on Monday, but designated Europe as a potential risk zone, along with most of the Middle East, categorizing Saudi Arabia and Turkey as high risk countries.
Egyptians affiliated with ISIS involved in beheading 21 Copts in Libya - Prosecution Egypt’s prosecution said on Sunday that a number of Egyptians affiliated with ISIS were involved in the beheading of twenty-one Copts in Libya in February 2015.
Domestic Security
Military spokesperson: 8 troops killed in North Sinai Eight troops have been killed after armed assailants attacked an army checkpoint in North Sinai, military spokesperson Mohamed Samir announced late Thursday night.
Death toll in North Sinai attack rises to 11 The death toll from an attack on a military checkpoint in North Sinai increased to eleven on Friday, Reuters reported, citing anonymous medical sources.
Islamic State claims deadly attack on Egyptian soldiers in Sinai Islamic State claimed responsibility on Friday for an attack on an Egyptian military checkpoint in northern Sinai Peninsula that killed at least twelve soldiers.
From Jadaliyya Egypt
كتب: سيد عبد الله السيسي: ما بعد قصيدة النثر The Jadaliyya Arabic editors interview Seyid Abdullah al-Sisi on his new book, “Beyond the Prose Poem: Towards a New Discourse on Arab Poetry.”
Arabic
»البداية» ترصد: 4 وقائع منع سفر وتوقيف بالمطار في أسبوعين.. مالك وراغب ووائل وعزة سليمان في «دولة المنع» Three activists were banned from travel and one was arrested during the past two weeks.
اجتماع بالنقابة.. دفاعًا عن الصحفيين Tens of journalists gathered in syndicate headquarter to address prison sentences handed to syndicate leaders.
تسلسل زمني: مسار الأزمة الأخيرة بين «الصحفيين» والدولة Mada Masr publishes the timeline of major confrontations between journalists and government during 2016.
بعد منعها من السفر.. عايدة سيف الدولة: يريدون إحكام الخناق علينا وعلى الناس جميعًا Aida Seif al-Dawla, director and co-founder of Al-Nadeem center, was banned from travel on Wednesday.
"منع من السفر وتحفظ على أموال حقوقيات ومنظمات المجتمع المدني: "تضييق غير مسبوق" و"يدعو للاشمئزاز Egypt’s security officials continue their relentless travel ban on human rights defenders, including most recently Azza Soliman, head of the Center for Egyptian Women Legal Assistance.
الدولي للصحفيين» يطالب الحكومة بدعم استقلالية الصحافة» The International Journalists Union calls on the Egyptian government to undertake the necessary measures to protect freedom of press and journalists’ rights.
إحالة 22 ضابطًا وأمين شرطة من قوة تأمين سجن المستقبل إلى المحاكمة Twenty-two police officers referred to misdemeanor court for trial over negligence charges in the case known as “the great escape.”
نقيب الصحفيين: تشكيل 3 لجان لمتابعة أزمات المهنة Press syndicate head, Yehia Kalash, declared on Wednesday the formation of three major committees to follow up on the prison sentence handed to the syndicate head and other board members, as well as the repercussions of recent economic decisions.
حالة "منع من السفر" خلال أكثر من عام لحقوقيين وإعلاميين ونشطاء.. تقرير: أداة غير دستورية للتنكيل السياسي والمعنوي80 The Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression and Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies issues a joint report on the increasing arbitrary travel bans between 2014 and 2016.