[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
Update: Interior Ministry issues warning not to join Friday protests against Egypt-Saudi island transfer The Interior Ministry has issued a warning not to join protests mass protests planned for Friday against a decision to transfer two islands to Saudi Arabia earlier this week.
Muslim Brotherhood, April 6 movement to protest Red Sea Islands transfer The Muslim Brotherhood will take part in the “protests of resistance” against Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s decision to transfer the two Red Sea Islands to Saudi Arabia, the group announced in an official statement on Thursday.
On campus protests against Red Sea island transfer Hundreds of students in Egypt’s public universities protested over the last two days against the transfer of sovereign control of the Red Sea islands Tiran and Sanafir to Saudi Arabia.
Protesters insulted police seeking provocation: former deputy minister Former Deputy Interior Minister Mohamed Nour Eddin said in a TV interview broadcast on Saturday that the ministry has never rejected any requests to hold public protests, denying accusations that political protests are routinely disallowed in Egypt.
Friday protests never happened for some major Egyptian newspapers Several major local newspapers, including the state-owned Al-Ahram, which has the highest circulation of Egyptian papers, opted to largely ignore the protests that took place nationwide on Friday denouncing Egypt’s decision to hand sovereignty of the Red Sea islands of Sanafir and Tiran to Saudi Arabia earlier this month.
Protesters arrested Friday to be held for 4 days pending investigations Twenty-five people arrested during Friday demonstrations will be held for four days pending investigations, their lawyer said Sunday.
Update: Prosecution reverses release order for 25 protesters After ordering the release of twenty-five protesters arrested during Friday`s demonstrations, Qasr al-Nil police station reversed its decision and referred them to national security for investigation.
3 people detained for producing documentary on Egypt`s student movement The Dokki prosecution has remanded three people into detention for fifteen days and ordered the arrest of a fourth pending investigations into charges that they belong to an illegal group. The defendants were arrested after they produced a documentary on the student movement in Egypt.
Sisi to Egyptians: I haven`t let you down or deserted you President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi warned Egyptians about numerous conspiracies to destabilize the country in a speech on Wednesday to political and society representatives at the presidential palace.
Sisi: We are confronting the forces of evil Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi was defensive about his human rights record at a press conference marking the arrival of French President Francois Hollande to Cairo on Sunday evening.
Ahead of French president`s visit: Will security trump human rights concerns? French President Francois Hollande is due to arrive in Cairo on Sunday for a two-day visit that is expected to include the signing of more arms deals between the two nations.
ILO to Egypt: Stop repressing independent trade unions The United Nations International Labor Organization issued a statement Friday criticizing Egypt’s ongoing repression of independent trade unions and workers’ freedom of association.
UN experts raise alarm at Egypt`s NGO crackdown United Nations human rights experts warned against the mounting crackdown on civil society in Egypt in a statement issued Monday, calling on the government to put an end to all forms of persecution of human rights defenders and to take effective measures to protect civil society.
Court strips actors, musicians syndicates of arrest powers An administrative court has annulled a ministerial decision to grant powers of arrest to the musicians and actors syndicates, according to the Egyptian Center for Economic and Social Rights.
Lawyers appeal detained novelist Ahmed Naji`s prison sentence Defense lawyers representing detained novelist Ahmed Naji appealed his two-year prison sentence in court on Wednesday, requesting that the appeal be looked into urgently.
Art and Liberty in Egypt, Today and Yesterday Imprisoned novelist Ahmad Naji reflects on how the continued neglect of the heritage of the Egyptian Surrealist movement, despite a resurgence in interest abroad, raises questions about the politics of culture in Egypt.
Relatives of `gang` accused of killing Giulio Regeni summoned for questioning Family members of a gang claimed to be responsible for the murder of Italian student Giulio Regeni were summoned for questioning by National Security prosecutors on Monday.
Doctor working on prisoner health and housemates` detention renewed for 45 days Abdeen court renewed on Saturday the detention of doctor and activist Taher Mokhtar and his housemates Ahmed Hassan and Ahmed Hossam for forty-five days pending investigations into charges of the possession of materials calling for the overthrow of the government.
Former agriculture minister sentenced to 10 years in jail on corruption charges Former Agriculture Minister Salah Helal was sentenced to ten years in a maximum-security prison along with his office director, Mohieddin Saeed, on corruption charges.
Court exempts journalist Esraa al-Taweel from parole obligations due to deteriorating health A Cairo court annulled a parole ruling requiring former detainee Esraa al-Taweel to report to her local police station once a week, her lawyer said on Tuesday.
Egypt court rejects lawsuit against Al Jazeera channel Egypt`s administrative court rejected on Sunday a lawsuit accusing Qatar`s Al-Jazeera television channel of "sponsoring terrorism."
Egypt court sentences journalist to 5 yrs for broadcasting false news A Giza court sentenced journalist and press syndicate member Mohamed Ali Hassan in absentia to five years of prison and fined him 500 LE for "broadcasting false news and inciting protest."
Egypt court cancels 3-year sentence for 17 students over clashes on campus An Egyptian court cancelled on Sunday a three-year prison sentence that was previously handed down to seventeen university students in a case related to violence on campus, dating back to 2013.
Economy
We will keep basic goods prices stable despite dollar crisis: Sisi Egypt`s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said on Wednesday he would make sure the price of basic goods does not increase, regardless of what happens to the value of the currency.
World Bank set to provide Egypt with first $1 billion of $3 billion loan The World Bank will provide the first one billion USD tranche of a three billion USD loan to Egypt after parliament approves the government`s economic program, World Bank vice president Hafez Ghanem said at a news conference late on Tuesday.
Egypt delays international bond issuance, is not in talks with IMF Egypt will delay an international bond issuance until at least the first half of the 2016/17 fiscal year and has not begun talks for an IMF loan, Finance Minister Amr al-Garhy said Saturday.
Foreign Relations
Hollande visit raises hopes of progress on Eric Lang murder case French President Francois Hollande arrived in Cairo on Sunday for the second leg of a three-stop visit to the Middle East. On the agenda for discussion in Cairo are matters of regional conflict, arms and economic deals between Egypt and France.
Update: Egypt concedes Russian plane crash could be criminal act, Putin addresses Egypt-Russia flights Suspecting that the Metrojet passenger plane crash near Sharm al-Sheikh last October was a criminal act, the general prosecutor has referred investigations to the State Security Prosecution, according to a statement from the prosecutor’s office released Thursday.
UK Foreign Office calls for `full` investigation into Regeni`s death A spokesperson for the United Kingdom’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office called for a “full and transparent” investigation into Italian student Giulio Regeni’s murder on Tuesday.
U.S. State Department criticises human rights situation in Egypt The U.S. State Department criticized Egypt`s human rights record in its 2015 Human Rights Practices report released Wednesday, highlighting restrictions on academic freedom and civil society as well as the impunity for security forces.
German Vice Chancellor says no restrictions on provision of arms to Egypt Germany has no restrictions on the provision of arms to Egypt, the Germany`s Vice Chancellor and minister for economic affairs and energy said on Sunday in a press conference following his meeting with the Egyptian president in Cairo.
Egypt to allocate 500,000 acres of arable lands to Saudi investors: Saudi minister Egyptian authorities agreed with the Saudi Agriculture Ministry to allocate 500,000 acres of arable lands for Saudi investors, said Saudi Arabia`s Minister of Agriculture, Abdul Rahman bin Abdul Mohsen al-Fadhli, in a statement Monday.
From Jadaliyya Egypt
Art as Interruption: On `Homeland,` Revolutionary Utterances, Surveillance - A STATUS/الوضع Conversation with Heba Y. Amin In this interview with STATUS/الوضع host Adel Iskander, artist Heba Y. Amin discusses and reflects on her most jarring works, which include hacking the set of television series Homeland with subversive graffiti, a videographic documentation of long-lost online audio messages from the Egyptian revolution (Speak2Tweet), and how birds relate to surveillance, the Bible, and the British takeover of Jerusalem.