[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
On the eve of the revolution`s anniversary, the state cajoles and intimidates The recent period has seen some conciliatory gestures on the part of the Egyptian state that some analysts have linked to calls for taking to the streets on the fifth anniversary of the revolution. Parallel to this, however, are some not-so-conciliatory moves.
Egyptian journalism: `Is there shame in [asking] a question?` “In Egypt, there is freedom of speech, but no freedom after speech” – went the running joke at a recent conference in Berlin that brought a number of prominent Egyptian media figures and scholars together to discuss the deplorable state of the country’s lack of freedom of the press.
Press group counts 60 violations against reporters in December A press freedom advocacy group, the Journalists Against Torture Observatory, said it detected sixty violations against journalists throughout December.
Egypt`s 2011 revolution against Mubarak attacked in new parliament Independent and party-based MPs in Egypt`s new parliament seized its opening session Sunday to direct attacks against the revolution, which forced president Hosni Mubarak to cede power in 2011.
Mortada Mansour goes off script during parliament oath recitation, saying `25 Jan not a revolution` During the first procedural session of the Egyptian parliament, controversial lawyer and MP Mortada Mansour refused to recite the oath in its proper form, provoking the ire of other parliamentarians.
Constitutional law professor Abdel-Al named Egypt`s parliament speaker Constitutional law professor Ali Abdel-Al was elected as Egypt`s parliament speaker late in Sunday`s procedural session.
Hazem Abdel Azeem faces backlash following controversial testimonial on parliament Telecommunications professor and liberal politician Hazem Abdel Azeem has been the subject of much scrutiny this week following a testimonial he published directly implicating the president and intelligence in the recent parliamentary elections.
Minister of Endowments: Partaking in January 25 protests violates Sharia On Friday, Egypt’s Endowments Minister Mohamed Mokhtar Gomaa, joined a long list of ruling statesmen denouncing calls to protest and/or publicly assemble on the fifth anniversary of the January 25 uprising.
Detention of `T-shirt Boy` extended for another 45 days A Cairo court extended the detention of student Mahmoud Mohamed Ahmed Hussein – known as the “T-shirt Boy” – for another forty-five days on Thursday. Mahmoud was originally arrested in 2014, during the third anniversary of the January 25 uprising.
Interior Ministry addresses forced disappearances amid growing criticism The Interior Ministry sent a report to the National Council for Human Rights on Saturday in response to the group’s investigation into the forced disappearance of 101 people.
Rights workers, detainee families criticize NCHR statement on prison conditions Rights workers criticize a statement by the National Council for Human Rights asserting that all complaints by detainees in maximum-security Al-Aqrab prison concerning access to food and medical care are being dealt with.
NCHR member Ragia Omran prevented from visiting Aqrab prison Ragia Omran, lawyer and member of the National Council for Human Rights, said that she was prevented from entering the notorious Aqrab Prison Tuesday as part of the council’s delegation to check on the conditions of prisoners.
Allegedly subversive Facebook activity lands 3 people in jail The Egyptian authorities have arrested three people in Giza, Cairo, and Daqahlia on charges of using Facebook pages to incite against national institutions, local media reported on Saturday.
Doctor killed following arrest lobbied for Jan 25 protests: security official A physician killed by police gunfire following his arrest was wanted for lobbying for protests on the fifth anniversary of the January 25 Revolution, according to security officials in Fayoum.
Trial of doctor arrested for protesting postponed An Egyptian appeals court postponed the trial of a young Egyptian doctor sentenced to two years in prison on charges of obstructing traffic and public disorder to 13 January.
15 Ultras sentenced to 5 years for attempt to assassinate Zamalek Club head Cairo Criminal Court sentenced fifteen Zamalek Club fans to five years with labor for attempting to assassinate the head of the Zamalek Club Mortada Mansour.
Mubarak family appeal rejected, sentences upheld in presidential palaces case An appeal filed by former President Hosni Mubarak and his two sons against their jail sentences was rejected on Saturday.
Ahram Gate journalists in court for allegedly insulting justice minister A judge on Wednesday referred Hisham Younes, the editor-in-chief of online news portal Ahram Gate, to court, along with Ahram Gate journalist Ahmed Amer, on charges of insulting Justice Minister Ahmed al-Zend.
Defendant in Al Jazeera trial acquitted Cairo Criminal Court acquitted on Wednesday Ahmed Abdallah Mohamed Attia, a defendant in a case known publicly as the Al Jazeera trial or "Marriott Cell" case.
Egyptian court annuls LE100 million ruling against Bassem Youssef An Egyptian court of appeal on Thursday annulled a court ruling that ordered comedian Bassem Youssef and his production company to pay 100 million LE in compensation to a satellite network which cancelled his show.
Court summons head of Central Auditing Authority Hesham Geneina The Court of Appeals summoned head of the Central Auditing Authority Hesham Geneina to appear on 18 January and undergo interrogations regarding accusations of insulting the judiciary fielded against him by Justice Minister Ahmed al-Zend.
Egypt court says judge removed from terrorism case after displaying bias The Cairo Appeals Court released a statement on Wednesday saying that a judge was recused from a high-profile terrorism-related case for making public statements that indicate bias against the defendants.
Sisi: 2016 will be the year of Egyptian youth President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi announced a number of plans to empower Egypt’s youth in his speech to inaugurate the Knowledge Bank initiative at Cairo Opera House on Saturday.
Economy
Survey: Decline in business activity slows in December Conditions in Egypt’s private sector continued to deteriorate in December, but the decline was less steep than in previous months.
Foreign reserves hold steady while Egypt looks to raise funds, reduce imports The Central Bank of Egypt announced this week that foreign reserves held steady again in December, with a marginal rise to 16.445 billion USD at the end of the month, compared to 16.423 billion USD in November.
CBE answers Sisi`s call to support small businesses Egypt’s Central Bank announced plans on Sunday evening to encourage local banks to give loans to small and medium sized businesses.
Strikes and labor protests hit state-owned companies Thousands of workers at state-owned companies have been embarking on strikes and other industrial actions this week in protest at low wages and bonuses, and in demand of parity with their co-workers in other company branches.
Egyptian officials meet with Microsoft CEO to discuss new tech initiatives Prime Minister Sherif Ismail and Communications and Information Technology Minister Yaser al-Qady met with the CEO of Microsoft Corporation Satya Nadella on Tuesday.
Foreign Relations
Military signs deal with Russia for 46 attack helicopters Egypt’s Armed Forces have reportedly signed a deal with the Russian Rosoboron export armaments company for the sale and delivery of forty-six attack helicopters.
Egypt remains diplomatic on Saudi-Iran fallout Egypt’s Foreign Ministry denounced the attack on the Saudi consulate in Iran, but focused on the general safety of diplomatic missions rather than taking a clear political stance.
Egypt officialy invited to attend OIC conference in Turkey Egypt has been invited to attend the thirteenth summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation which will be held in Turkey`s Istanbul next April.
Egypt `strongly condemns` suicide attack on Libyan police school Egypt condemned "in the strongest terms" a suicide truck bombing that killed more than fifty people at a police school in Libya on Wednesday.
Egypt expresses concern over North Korean nuclear test Egypt expressed concern on Wednesday over a claim by North Korean that it successfully conducted a hydrogen bomb test, the Egyptian foreign ministry said.
Egypt receives Yemeni Foreign Minister to discuss recent developments Egypt received Yemeni Foreign Minister Abdel Malek al-Mekhlafi Friday morning to meet with officials to discuss the current developments in Yemen.
Technical talks over Renaissance dam kick-off in Addis Ababa An Egyptian technical delegation held talks with its counterparts from Sudan and Ethiopia in Addis Ababa over the latter`s controversial Grand Renaissance Dam on Wednesday.
Domestic Security
Egypt`s Sisi discusses national security with General Intelligence Service officials Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi visited Tuesday afternoon the Egyptian General Intelligence Service headquarters in Cairo where he held a meeting to discuss the latest regional developments and their impacts on Egyptian national security.
Police attacked outside Giza hotel A group of police officers was attacked with fireworks and birdshot outside a Giza hotel on Thursday, according to a statement from the Interior Ministry.
Officials, media offer conflicting accounts of Hurghada hotel attack At least two European tourists were injured in a Friday evening attack by armed assailants on a hotel in the Red Sea resort of Hurghada.
Egypt`s Tourism Minister promises greater security measures after tourist attack Egypt`s Tourism Minister Hisham Zaazou said on Saturday that the government will announce additional security measures to safeguard tourists after an attack in the Red Sea resort of Hurgada left three injured on Friday.
Police colonel and conscript killed in drive-by shooting in Giza A police colonel and conscript were killed in a drive-by shooting in the Shouprament city of Giza, the Interior Ministry reported in an official statement on Saturday.
ISIS claims responsibility for security personnel murders in Giza ISIS Egyptian affiliate claimed responsibility for attacks that took place earlier Saturday against security personnel in Egypt`s Giza.
ISIS-affiliated militant group claims bombing of Sinai pipeline to Jordan Egypt`s most active militant group, the ISIS-affiliated Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis, claimed responsibility for the bombing of a pipeline that carries gas to Jordan and Egypt`s North Sinai region.
Tourism company blamed for deadly airstrike on tourist convoy An investigation by Egyptian authorities suggests that a travel company was responsible for the deaths of twelve people, including eight Mexican tourists, in a military airstrike last year, according to the Mexican foreign minister.
Egypt attempting to verify news of Egyptians abducted in Libya Egypt is attempting to verify the authenticity of media reports on the kidnapping or arrest of Egyptians in Libya, the Egyptian foreign ministry said on Friday.
Egyptian court jails captains of Nile boats involved in deadly collision Al-Warraq Misdemeanour Court on Saturday jailed the captains of two ships, which collided on the Nile in July, killing forty people, to between five and seven years in jail.
14 militants killed, 13 suspects arrested in North Sinai - army spokesman North Sinai security forces killed fourteen militants and arrested thirteen suspects within the framework of the “Martyr’s Right” military operation in Arish, Rafah and Sheikh Zuweid.
Police seize weapons, drugs during country-wide crackdown A large amount of heavy and light firearms, ammunition and drugs were seized during security campaigns in six provinces, announced the Interior Ministry.
From Jadaliyya Egypt
آلة القتل في الدولة والموجة الثورية القادمة Aly El Raggal examines the relationship between the murderous practice and potential of the Egyptian military and the revolutionary practice and potential of the Egyptian people.