[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
Mubarak ordered released following acquittal in killing protesters case Egypt`s prosecutor-general ordered on Monday the release of ousted President Hosni Mubarak following his acquittal earlier this month on charges of killing protesters during the 25 January Revolution.
Egypt`s ousted Mubarak files lawsuit to unfreeze EGP 61 million in assets Egypt`s former president Hosni Mubarak, who is under investigation over an increase in his personal wealth since 2011, filed a lawsuit on Thursday against the minister of justice and the general prosecution to unfreeze sixty-one million LE of his assets.
Minya lawyers strike after 9 sentenced to prison for defaming judiciary Lawyers in Minya initiated a strike on Monday after nine lawyers were issued prison sentences for defaming the judiciary. Seven have been jailed, and two were sentenced in absentia by the Minya Criminal Court on Sunday.
Egyptian lawyers strike after 7 lawyers sentenced for insulting judiciary Hundreds of lawyers staged a nationwide strike on Saturday after seven journalists in the southern Egyptian city of Minya were sentenced to prison for insulting the judiciary.
Student forcibly disappeared for 81 days questioned, accused of belonging to banned group Forcibly disappeared journalism student Ibrahim Ragab, who has been missing for eighty-one days, was questioned by Zagazig prosecution on Saturday without the presence of a lawyer. Ragab has been detained for a period of fifteen days pending investigations, according to his fiance Asmaa Hamdy.
2 journalists interrogated on false news charges related to Port Said stadium case The Public Prosecution interrogated two journalists on charges of publishing false news relating to the Port Said stadium case on Wednesday. They were subsequently released on 1,000 LE bail.
Six board members announced victors in Egypt’s Press Syndicate election The judicial committee overseeing Egypt’s Press Syndicate elections announced early Saturday the six elected board members with the highest votes.
Sisi pardons 203 peopled imprisoned on illegal protest and assembly-related charges Two-hundred and three people held in Egyptian prisons on convictions related to illegal assembly and protest have been pardoned by presidential decree, the presidential spokesperson announced on Monday.
State Council recommends revoking closure of Al-Nadeem Center Egypt’s State Council Commissioner Authority recommended the revoking of a prior administrative order to close Al-Nadeem Center for Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence, in a report on Saturday.
Court postpones trial of 67 defendants in connection with prosecutor general’s assassination A Cairo criminal court postponed on Saturday the trial of sixty-seven defendants in the case of the 2015 assassination of Prosecutor General Hesham Barakat, to Tuesday 21 March, in order to hear testimonies from forensics experts and doctors at Nozha hospital.
NCHR, Interior Ministry sign protocol to train 300 policemen on human rights The National Council for Human Rights and the Interior Ministry, on Thursday, signed a joint protocol of cooperation for organizing training sessions for policemen on human rights. Members of the council and representatives of the ministry sectors were in attendance at the council headquarters in Giza.
Court sets April 2 to rule on lawsuit voiding Red Sea islands as Egyptian The Cairo Court for Urgent Matters announced 2 April as the date to rule on a lawsuit demanding the annulment of the Supreme Administrative Court’s final ruling that the Red Sea islands of Tiran and Sanafir are Egyptian, which had nullified a controversial agreement to transfer them to Saudi Arabia.
Egypt`s parliament to discuss Tiran and Sanafir deal despite court ruling voiding agreement Egyptian parliament speaker Ali Abdel-Aal confirmed on Tuesday that the House will discuss a controversial deal involving the transfer of two Red Sea islands under Egyptian control to Saudi Arabia, despite the agreement being annulled by a final court ruling earlier this year.
Armed Forces arrest 398 migrants along Egypt’s western and southern borders The spokesperson for Egypt’s Armed Forces issued a statement announcing that troops arrested 398 migrants along the country’s western and southern borders from 21 February to 13 March.
Report: Nile Delta’s increasing salinity and rising sea levels may make Egypt uninhabitable by 2100 Egypt’s fresh water is decreasing at alarming rates, and the country will face nationwide shortages by 2025, according to a report published in the Geological Society of America’s May issue.
Hundreds of children hospitalized in ‘suspected’ food poisoning outbreak in Sohag Over 2,200 school children were admitted to hospital on Tuesday in the Upper Egyptian governorate of Sohag following “suspicions” of mass food poisoning, according to a statement by Egypt’s Health Ministry.
Economy
Tourism and physiotherapy conference shows Sharm is safe: Cairo University head President of Cairo University Gaber Nassar said that a two-day international tourism and physiotherapy conference in Egypt`s Red Sea resort of Sharm El Sheikh sent a message that Sharm El Sheikh is completely safe for world tourism.
IMF delegation to review Egypt`s austerity program in April visit An International Monetary Fund mission will visit Cairo from 28 April to 8 May to review Egypt`s economic reform program in preparation for issuing the second installment of the first tranche of the twelve billion USD IMF loan, Finance Minister Amr al-Garhy said on Wednesday.
Egypt ranks third among Arab nations on Global Hunger Index 2016 Egypt ranks third place among Arab countries on the Global Hunger Index for 2016 and in fifty-ninth place among 118 countries surveyed, according to the Central Agency for Public Mobilization And Statistics
`Huge` gas find off Egyptian coast sign of maybe more: Eni official A senior official with Italy`s oil and gas company Eni says the discovery of a huge natural gas deposit in Egyptian waters has boosted hopes of other such finds in the eastern Mediterranean that could help meet Europe`s energy needs.
Foreign Relations
Egypt denounces Europe’s human rights record in UN Human Rights Council meeting Egypt’s United Nations Human Rights Council envoy denounced several European countries’ human rights situations during a Wednesday council meeting, following comments made by the European Union, United States and Switzerland that were critical of Egypt’s own rights record.
Egypt establishes diplomatic mission to NATO Egypt`s President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi has issued a presidential decree establishing a diplomatic mission to NATO.
Saudi Aramco to resume oil shipments to Egypt Saudi Arabian oil company Aramco will resume oil shipments to Egypt, Petroleum Ministry spokesperson Hamdy Abdel Aziz told Mada Masr on Wednesday.
Palestine’s Abbas to visit Cairo Sunday for talks with Sisi ahead of Arab League summit Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is scheduled to arrive in Cairo on Sunday upon an invitation by Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi for talks ahead of the upcoming Arab League summit in Jordan.
Egypt army chief of staff and UN Libya envoy discuss end to Libyan crisis Egypt`s Chief of Staff Mahmoud Hegazy and special representative of the UN Secretary-General in Libya Martin Kobler discussed recent efforts to reach national consensus between factions in the war-torn country, Egypt`s army said in a statement on Sunday.
Domestic Security
2 civilians found dead in North Sinai Local sources have reported that the bodies of civilians Adnan Barhoum and Abdel Rahman Abou Safra were found close to Rafah in North Sinai, after they were reportedly abducted by unidentified militants a few days ago.
Egypt’s army says killed 18 terrorists, arrested 37 suspects in North Sinai Egypt`s army said it killed eighteen “highly dangerous terrorists” in different parts of the restive North Sinai as well as arrested thirteen-seven suspects, two different statements on the army spokesman’s official Facebook page read.
`Egypt is on brink of ridding Sinai of terrorism,` army general tells MPs Major General Mamdouh Shahin, the Egyptian defence minister`s deputy for legislative and constitutional affairs, told members of parliament on Tuesday that the army is on the brink of eliminating terrorism in North Sinai.
One dead, four injured as wartime land mine explodes in Egypt’s Suez One person was killed and four were injured on Thursday in Egypt`s canal city of Suez after an old wartime landmine exploded, Egypt`s interior ministry announced.
Arabic
دوت مصر" يكشف إهمال وزارة المالية في تحصيل مديونيات الدولة" Central Accountability Agency and oversight bodies release a report on the negligence of the Financial Ministry in collecting state debts.
«تشريعية النواب» توافق على قرض صندوق النقد.. وعبد العال: «الاتفاقية تمثل برنامج إصلاح متكامل» The Legislative and Constitutional Committee endorsed the presidential decree on “extended fund facility” between Egypt and the International Monetary Fund, which was adopted by the IMF`s Board of Directors last November.
إخلاء سبيل صحفيين اثنين بكفالة بعد اتهامهما بنشر أخبار كاذبة The Public Prosecution released two journalists, Khaled Amar from Al-Wafd and Ramadan Ahmad from Rose Al-Youssef, on bail. The journalists are accused of “publishing false news with the intention of harming public interest”.
بارومتر الأعمال»: استمرار تراجع الاستثمارات والتشغيل.. وآمال التعافي لا زالت بعيدة« The Egyptian Center for Economic Studies releases a report on the decline in business activity after the floatation of the Egyptian pound, precipitating a sheer drop in investment and employment.
السيسي يعتمد قائمة ثانية للعفو عن 203 سجناء في قضايا تجمهر وتظاهر The second list of presidential pardon released 203 prisoners who were convicted of violating the protest law, according to the official spokesperson of the Office of the President.
الحراك النسوي الجديد في مصر: لماذا قانون الأحوال الشخصية؟ The Personal Status Code reflects the state’s discriminatory and patriarchal laws against Egyptian women.
مصر: الأزمة بين السيسي والقضاء قادمة Egyptian parliament adjourned the amendment to the “judicial bodies’ law,” which grants the president the right to appoint heads of judicial bodies.
تُهم "إهانة القضاء" تلاحق المحامين المصريين Minya Criminal Courts’ lawyers strike entered into force Wednesday, denouncing the prison sentences against nine lawyers detained on charges of “insulting the judges.”
السيسى يقرر إنشاء بعثة لمصر لدى حلف شمال الأطلنطي Egypt’s Official Gazette published Thursday President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s decision to form a diplomatic mission to NATO.
قائمة العفو الثانية.. لا مكان للمعارضين المدنيين The second pardon list sparked questions about the unspecified criteria the committee uses for pardoning.
"هاش_ديسك | "حرية دومة حقه".. بعد 3 سنين "انفرادي# “Free Douma “ campaign goes viral on social media, calling for the release of the prominent activist Ahmad Douma who was handed a life sentence in the case known in the media as “Shura council clashes”.
المشهد الإعلامي المصري يستعيد رموز ما قبل الثورة Six years after revolt, Mubarak-era figures marked their return to media talk shows, raising concerns among advocates of accountability.
»استنادًا لقانون الإرهاب.. السجن 7 سنوات لـ5 شباب على خلفية احتجاجات «تيران وصنافير Alexandria Criminal Court handed six-year prison sentences in absentia to five young Egyptians over charges of inciting terrorism.
أرامكو» السعودية تستأنف توريد البترول لمصر« ARAMCO resumed oil supplies to Egypt after six months suspension since last October, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Petroleum said.
«قومي حقوق الإنسان» يوقع بروتوكولاً مع «الداخلية» The National Council for Human Rights and Interior Ministry signed Thursday Cooperation Protocol on human rights-based training for police officers.
حقوقيات يرصدن تدني أوضاع المرأة في تقرير عام 2016 The Egyptian Center for Women’s Rights released a report entitled “Egyptian Women 2016: Important Steps, Big Challenges” which indicates that women status has worsened economically, socially and educationally.
أصوات مصرية.. الكلمة الأخيرة The six-year old Aswat Masriya website which was set up by Thomson Reuters Foundation as an independent source of news and information will close in late March 2017 due to lack of funding.
قصة في خبر) على أصوات مصرية( Ahead of its closure, Aswat Masriya compiled its most-read articles on Egyptian society published during the last six years.