[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
2011 NGO case reopened against Hossam Bahgat, Gamal Eid and others The Cairo Criminal Court is scheduled to review a ruling to freeze the assets of four defendants, including Hossam Bahgat and Gamal Eid, pending investigations into charges that they illegally received 1.5 million USD in foreign funding for their nongovernmental organizations.
Egypt court freezes assets of four rights activists in 2011 illegal funding case A judicial committee overseeing a five-year-old investigation into several rights activists accused of receiving illegal funding for their nongovernmental organizations from foreign sources ordered on Thursday the freezing of assets of four Egyptian human rights activists and their families.
Cairo court postpones decision on freezing assets of rights activists The Cairo Criminal Court adjourned Saturday to 24 March a session to rule on a Thursday judicial order freezing the assets of four rights activists, including journalist Hossam Bahgat and lawyer Gamal Eid, on charges they received a total of 1.5 million USD in "illegal funds from foreign entities" after all defendants failed to show up in court.
Egypt: Planned asset freezes are government’s latest tool to eradicate civil society The Egyptian authorities are expected to freeze the assets of two prominent human rights defenders and their family members in yet another blatant attempt to paralyze civil society in Egypt, an act that leaves no doubt as to the government’s resolve to crush freedom of expression and association, Amnesty International said today.
Nazra for Feminist Studies summoned for investigation in re-opened NGO case Nazra for Feminist Studies received an official summons for investigation in the re-opened 2011 case against a number of nongovernmental organizations, the organization announced in a statement on Sunday.
After 3 years in prison, Coptic teacher acquitted of insulting Islam Coptic teacher Bishouy Kameel was acquitted of insulting Islam by the Assiut Appeals Court on Sunday, after he had already served three years of his six-year sentence.
Doctors in private clinics join push for affordable healthcare A number of doctors in private medical clinics provided free checkups on Saturday, joining the recent campaign for affordable healthcare in public hospitals.
On doctors day, medical school graduates are not happy On Egypt’s national doctors day, young graduating doctors are among those at the forefront of discontent in the health sector, apart from the doctors protesting police violence in hospitals that have grabbed headlines over the past month.
Court rejects appeal to release detained doctor Taher Mokhtar`s housemates A South Cairo criminal court rejected the most recent appeal to release university students Ahmed Hassan and Ahmed Hossam, who have been in detention for over one month, after they were arrested in January along with their housemate, doctor and activist Taher Mohktar, for possession of printed material allegedly calling for the overthrow of the government.
Egyptian court orders conditional release of ten pro-Brotherhood Islamist figures A Cairo criminal court ordered Saturday the conditional release of ten leading Islamist members of the now-banned National Coalition in Support of Legitimacy who are facing various criminal charges.
Anger at police builds up in Egypt, creates solidarity The past months in Egypt have seen fluctuating moments of protest, and despite the varying backgrounds of those who dissent, all seem to have a common enemy: the police.
The Interior Ministry versus police clubs Members of police clubs and associations claim the Interior Ministry used recent media reports on bad apples within the police to draft legislation against low-ranking personnel.
Who will become the next justice minister? After Justice Minister Ahmed al-Zend tendered his resignation Sunday night, media outlets began guessing who might fill a position that has seen four ministers come and go since President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi was elected in 2014.
Egypt’s Ministers of Tourism, Education, Finance and Others ‘to Be Replaced’ Egypt’s Prime Minister is set to replace a number of Ministers, including the Ministers of Tourism, Education, Finance, Transport, and Investment.
Top priority to press laws in legislative agenda: Egypt parliament speaker The Egyptian parliament`s legislative agenda in the near future will give top priority to issuing new media and press laws in line with the new constitution, said parliament speaker Ali Abdel-Al on Monday.
What the decision to test all detainees at a police station for HIV reveals about Egypt`s security services Last week local press reported that three detainees at Haram Police Station were placed in solitary confinement to prevent them from “practicing homosexuality” with the other detainees and possibly infecting them with HIV. They were also made to undergo forced anal examinations to determine “how they had acquired HIV.”
Contradictions, rumors and conspiracy surround Giulio Regeni in local press Local press in Egypt has been circulating numerous unconfirmed reports about the cause of Italian student Giulio Regeni’s brutal death in recent weeks.
Coptic media: Expressing grievances, or sectarianism? Mona Mina, the renowned leader of the Doctors Syndicate, is back in the headlines as thousands of Egyptian doctors take action against increasing police intimidation at public hospitals — but the news coverage has also put the spotlight on Coptic media outlets.
Economy
Egypt’s `ecopreneurs` find opportunity in dysfunction To most people, piles of garbage, extended power outages, and water cuts represent environmental disasters or systemic failures. To a rising cohort of ecologically oriented entrepreneurs, these problems represent a business opportunity.
Are you Orange? After months of a relatively downward slope, the stock price of the telecom operator formerly known as Mobinil shot up more than fifty percent in the week after the company rebranded as Orange.
Central Bank raises interest rates by 1.5 percent The Central Bank of Egypt’s Monetary Policy Committee decided to raise benchmark interest rates by 150 basis points (1.5 percentage points) across the board on Thursday, citing the need to contain inflation.
Central Bank auctions off $1.5 billion at stronger rate of LE8.78 Egypt’s Central Bank auctioned off 1.5 billion USD in an exceptional auction Wednesday, selling dollars at 8.78 LE.
Central Bank devalues pound to LE8.85 per dollar At its Monday currency auction, the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) allowed the pound’s official exchange rate to reach 8.85 LE per dollar. The CBE has held the pound at 7.73 LE to the dollar since November.
Central Bank reduces currency auctions to once a week Egypt’s Central Bank announced Sunday that it plans to reduce its regular currency auctions to once a week, down from three times a week previously.
Foreign Relations
How effective is the EU Parliament resolution against Egypt? After the European Parliament passed a non-binding resolution recommending the suspension of export licenses of any equipment to Egypt that would be used for internal repression, the Egyptian Foreign Affairs Ministry and Parliament were quick to respond, decrying an alleged infringement on the sovereignty of the state. But is that as far as the resolution’s ripple effect will spread?
John Kerry voices concern over human rights in Egypt as 2011 case is reopened against several NGOs American Secretary of State John Kerry announced on Friday his concern for the deteriorating condition of human rights in Egypt, citing the reopening of a case against non-governmental organizations, which dates back to 2011.
Egypt bristles at int`l criticism of deteriorating human rights record Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry responded to US Secretary of State John Kerry’s criticism of Egypt’s human rights record by saying that Egypt does not accept the guardianship of foreign countries and that human rights are a national responsibility.
Italian prosecutor arrives in Cairo, Egypt hands over full case file on Regeni murder Rome’s chief prosecutor Giuseppe Pignatone arrived in Cairo on Monday to meet with Egypt’s Prosecutor General Nabil Sadek in an unprecedented sign of bilateral cooperation in the ongoing investigations into Giulio Regeni’s murder.
Italian FM satisfied with Cairo cooperation in Regeni inquiry: Egypt FM spokesperson Italian foreign minister Paolo Gentiloni has expressed satisfaction with Egypt’s cooperation in the investigation of Italian student Regeni’s murder, according to a Facebook statement by Egypt’s foreign ministry.
Saudi Arabia agrees to finance Sinai development, petroleum purchases Egypt and Saudi Arabia signed several agreements during a Sunday meeting in Riyadh, including a 1.5 billion USD financing deal for development projects in the Sinai, and an agreement that will see Saudi Arabia finance Egypt’s petroleum needs for five years.
15 Egyptians found detained in Libya `not captured by Islamic State group` Fifteen Egyptians who were believed to have been captured by the Islamic State militant group in Libya are safe and being detained by Libyan authorities at an illegal immigrants center In Tripoli, an Egyptian foreign ministry official said on Tuesday.
Egypt`s FM in Khartoum to prep for Sisi-Bashir Cairo summit Egypt`s foreign minister Sameh Shoukry arrived early Sunday to the Sudanese capital Khartoum on an official visit to plan for a session of the Egyptian-Sudanese joint presidential committee, expected to take place soon in Cairo.
Egypt`s military production minister heads to Russia for talks Egypt`s minister of military production Mohamed al-Assar traveled to Russia on Sunday with a high-level military delegation to discuss cooperation with Russian officials in the field of joint military production.
High-level French delegation arrives in Egypt ahead of Hollande visit A high-level twelve-member delegation from France arrived in Cairo on Tuesday to prepare for French President Francois Hollande`s upcoming visit to Egypt.
Domestic Security
At least 13 security personnel killed in Arish bombing At least thirteen police personnel and soldiers were killed in a car bombing in the North Sinai city of Arish. The officers were killed in an ambush as they were returning to their police station in Arish.
Egypt`s interior ministry mourns 15 policemen killed in North Sinai attack Egypt`s interior ministry mourns the death of fifteen policemen who were killed Saturday in an armed attack on a police checkpoint in the North Sinai city of Arish, an official statement said on Sunday.
Police officer shot dead by unknown assailants in Egypt`s Al-Arish An officer was shot dead by unknown assailants near a police station in North Sinai`s al-Arish, interior ministry spokesperson Abu Bakr Abdel-Karim announced on Monday.
Three killed in North Sinai `exchange of fire` - military spokesperson Egyptian military forces in Northern Sinai`s Rafah killed three “militants” during an "exchange of fire", a military spokesperson said on Thursday.
From Jadaliyya Egypt
Hope without Illusion: Ten Signs of Change in Egypt Abdelrahman Mansour and Mohamed Aboelgheit list ten reasons why they "believe that we are now reliving Mubarak’s last decade in office, that is, an era of political “exercises,” which, slowly but surely, are paving the way for new, promising opportunities."
New Texts Out Now: Joel Beinin, Workers and Thieves: Labor Movements and Popular Uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt Jadaliyya interviews Joel Beinin about his new book, Workers and Thieves: Labor Movements and Popular Uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt.