[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.]
Sectarian Strikes Against Minya Copts
Quotes from Sisi’s speech on Copts’ attack in Minya: Strike conducted in retaliation President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi addressed the nation on the evening of Friday, 26 May, in the aftermath of the killing of twenty-eight Coptic Christians when armed militants attacked their vehicles as they were traveling to a monastery in Upper Egypt’s Minya governorate.
Mujahideen Shura Council in Derna denies involvement in Minya attack, condemns Egyptian airstrikes The Mujahideen Shura Council in Derna, a Libya-based Al-Qaeda affiliate, has issued a statement denying involvement in an attack on Coptic Christians traveling to a monastery in Minya on Friday.
Islamic State claims responsibility for attack on Copts in Minya The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack on vehicles carrying Coptic Christians to a monastery in Upper Egypt’s Minya governorate in a statement released on Saturday.
Attack on vehicles traveling to Minya Coptic monastery leaves at least 26 dead Armed militants attacked two vehicles carrying Coptic Christians traveling to a monastery in Upper Egypt’s Minya governorate on Friday morning.
Egyptian state Islamic authority cancels Ramadan celebration following attack on Copts in Minya Dar Al-Iftaa, the Egyptian state body responsible for issuing Islamic edicts, has cancelled the celebrations scheduled on Friday to mark the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan.
Political Rights
Court accepts activist Ahmed Douma’s appeal of 3-year sentence Activist Ahmed Douma’s appeal of a three-year sentence for insulting the judiciary was accepted by the Court of Cassation on Thursday, which ordered his retrial before the Maadi Misdemeanors Court.
Head of CIHRS Mohamed Zaree released on LE30K bail after questioning in ongoing NGO case A judge ordered the release of Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies’ Cairo head Mohamed Zaree on bail after questioning him in relation to a case against non-governmental organizations that started in 2011.
Prominent Egyptian rights lawyer Khaled Ali detained over `obscene hand gesture` Egyptian rights lawyer Khaled Ali, who recently spearheaded a case challenging the government`s Tiran and Sanafir deal with Saudi Arabia, was detained on Tuesday for making an "obscene hand gesture" during a demonstration outside the State Council headquarters in January, according to Ali`s lawyer.
Lawyer Khaled Ali detained overnight amid crackdown on political opposition figures Prominent lawyer and founder of the Bread and Freedom Party Khaled Ali was questioned by the prosecution on Tuesday and held overnight at Dokki police station pending further investigations.
Lawyer Khaled Ali to face urgent trial Monday, charges unclear Prominent lawyer and founder of Egypt’s Bread and Freedom Party Khaled Ali will face urgent trial at a Dokki misdemeanor court on Monday 29 May on charges that are not yet clear.
More Dostour Party members, Revolutionary Socialists arrested Two more members of the Dostour Party and a member of Egypt’s Revolutionary Socialists are among the most recent to be arrested amid a crackdown on political figures critical of government policies.
Update: Police arrest 32 workers following dispersal of sit-in at Tourah Cement Company Security forces dispersed a sit-in held by workers demanding full-time contracts, as per a previous court ruling, at the privately owned Tourah Cement Company in southern Cairo on Monday. They detained twenty-two workers during the dispersal, arresting ten more that evening and issuing warrants for an additional three.
Egyptian police apprehend suspect in connection with shooting of 13-year-old boy in 6 October Egypt`s interior ministry has arrested a suspect in relation to the shooting of a thirteen-year-old boy and a twenty-two-year-old woman in 6 October city earlier this month and he has confessed to involvement in the crime, the ministry said.
Egypt blocks 21 websites, including Qatar`s Al-Jazeera, for `supporting terrorism, extremism` Egypt has blocked twenty-one websites, including Qatari-based news network Al-Jazeera, for content it said shows support for “terrorism, extremism.”
Egypt`s population officially reaches 93 millions: CAPMAS Egypt’s population officially reached ninety-three million on Monday evening, according to a statement from the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics on Tuesday.
Average age of Egyptian woman climbs to 73.3 despite increased death rate: CAPMAS The average age of Egyptian women climbed to 73.3 in 2016 from 70.5 registered in 2009, the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics said in a statement on Sunday, marking the International Day of Action for Women’s Health.
Economy
Egypt`s Central Bank allocates EGP 20 bln to support 8 mln microenterprises The Central Bank of Egypt`s "initiative to promote supporting microenterprises" will allocate twenty billion LE through banks to fund eight million new enterprises in the upcoming three years, the Bank’s governor announced.
Egypt`s tourist visitors up 49 pct year-on-year in March The number of tourists visiting Egypt during March 2017 increased by almost forty-nine percent compared to the same month last year, recording 654,900 tourists compared to 440,700 tourists in March 2016, the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics announced on Monday.
Foreign Relations
Behind the curtains of the Foreign Ministry: Security apparatuses play for control Five Egyptian diplomats were informed by the Foreign Ministry in early May of a presidential decree to transfer them to agriculture and development government entities outside the ministry.
Terrorism is the greatest challenge in the region, Egypt`s FM tells Rhodes Conference Egypt`s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said Monday, in an address to the Rhodes Conference for Security and Stability, that the terrorist phenomenon is the greatest challenge in the region as it aims at dismantling societies and shaking their stability.
US Embassy warns of possible Egypt attack by Hassm militants The United States Embassy in Cairo warned on Wednesday of a possible imminent attack in Egypt by the Hassm militant group.
Bloodletting of Christians must end, and all who aid their killers must be punished: Trump on Minya attack US President Donald Trump has expressed his sadness and support for Egypt and President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi following the terrorist attack on Christians in Minya Friday that saw twenty-eight Copts killed by armed gunmen.
Pope Francis expresses his condolences for Egypt, Coptic Church after deadly Minya attack Pope Francis has expressed condolences to Egypt and the Coptic Orthodox Church following a deadly attack on Egyptian Christians on Friday, according to an Egyptian foreign ministry statement.
Pope Francis says Egyptian Copts killed by IS group were `martyrs` For the second day in a row, Pope Francis has expressed his solidarity with Egypt`s Coptic Christians following an attack on a bus carrying Coptic pilgrims to a remote desert monastery.
Video: Egypt’s army says intensive air strikes carried out on terrorist elements in Libya after attack on Egyptian Copts Egypt’s armed forces carried out intensive air strikes by night and day targeting terrorist elements in Libya following a Friday attack in Egypt’s Minya that left twenty-nine Coptic Christians dead, an army spokesman statement read.
`Egyptian air strikes on terrorist strongholds in Libya legitimate self-defence,` Shoukry tells Tillerson Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry has told his US counterpart Rex Tillerson that Egyptian air strikes on “terrorist strongholds” in eastern Libya came in the framework of “legitimate self-defense.”
Egypt informs UN Security Council of airstrikes on Libyan terrorist hideouts, citing `self defence` Egypt handed a letter to the head of the UN Security Council on Saturday, informing him of its recent airstrikes on terrorist hideouts in eastern Libya and citing its right to self-defense, Egypt`s foreign ministry said in a statement.
Egyptian-Russian negotiations on flight resumption remain ‘unresolved’: Russian deputy transport minister Russia’s Deputy Transportation Minister Valery Okulov said on Wednesday that negotiations between Moscow and Cairo on the resumption of Russian flights to Egypt remain “unresolved.”
Domestic Security
Hassm denies intention to target foreign nationals in Egypt Militant group Hassm denied an intention to target foreign nationals in Egypt in a statement published on Thursday, one day after the United States Embassy in Cairo issued a warning to US nationals regarding a possible imminent attack by the group.
Policeman killed by unknown militants in North Sinai A low ranking policeman was killed by unknown assailants in North Sinai’s al-Arish.
Egyptian army kills three militants in central Sinai raid: Military spokesman Egyptian soldiers have killed three "highly dangerous" militants in a raid in the central part of the Sinai Peninsula, the Egyptian military said in a statement on Sunday.
Arabic
استغلال أم تهميش: مشكلة العمل الراهنة Amr Adly writes about how modern capitalism negatively affects the lives of the poor.
أهالي «منشأة ناصر»: إحنا أولى من المستثمر Residents of al-Razzaz and al-Nour streets in Manshiyet Nasser refuse to leave their homes after being targeted by forced eviction campaigns led by the government since 2009.
بخط يده.. «شوكان» يكتب عن اليوم العالمي لحرية الصحافة Egyptian photojournalist Shawkan writes a letter from prison.
صحفيون يطلقون حملة توقيعات لمنع زيارة وزير الداخلية لمقر النقابة The Front for the Defense of Journalists and Liberties launched Monday a campaign to collect 500 signatures to reject the syndicate head’s invitation to the Interior Minister to visit the Press Syndicate’s headquarters.
تقرير حقوقي: 78 انتهاكًا لحرية التعبير في الربع الأول من 2017 The Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression reported seventy-eight violations against freedom of expression during the first quarter of 2017.
"عاجل| مصدر أمني: حجب 21 موقعا تدعم الإرهاب في مصر أبرزها "الجزيرة Twenty-one websites are currently blocked in Egypt for allegedly spreading false news and supporting terrorism, security source declared.
)تقرير رسمي يدافع عن قرار حجب مواقع إلكترونية بمصر لدعمها الإرهاب (نص كامل Al Masry Al-Youm published an official report justifying the blocking of Egyptian and Arabic websites.
بيان من مدى مصر بعد حجب الموقع: مستمرون في النشر عبر كافة المنصات المتاحة.. انتظرونا قريبا جدا Mada Masr released a statement denouncing the closure of their website and pledges to continue publishing through other platforms.
«النقض» تقبل طعن أحمد دومة على حبسه 3 سنوات في «إهانة القضاء» Cassation Court approved activist Ahmad Douma’s appeal against the three-year prison sentence over insulting the judiciary.
عين في جهازك: الحكومة تصعد حربها على الاتصالات الآمنة في مصر The government intensified an unprecedented crackdown on Internet users over the past three months.
مازالت جريمة الإختفاء القسري تهدر الحقوق الدستورية للمتهمين 107 حالة اختفاء قسري موثقة في الربع الأول من سنة 2017 “Stop Enforced Disappearance” campaign released its quarterly report of 2017 documenting 107 cases of enforced disappearance during the first quarter of 2017.
«قوى عاملة البرلمان» توافق مبدئيا على مشروع «التنظيمات النقابية» The Parliament’s Labor Force Committee announced a tentative agreement on labor unions bill.
أفرجوا عن عمال أسمنت طرة.. الإضراب والاعتصام حق Revolutionary Socialist Movement condemned the referral of expelled thirty-two Torah Cement workers to trial on 28 May over inciting violence and assaulting police during their sit-in against their dismissal.
مصر | الحكومة تحيل ميزانية «غير دستورية» على البرلمان The government of Prime Minister Sherif Ismail referred the new budget to the parliament.
مركز القاهرة يدين اتهام مديره محمد زارع بـ«الإضرار بالأمن القومي»: انتهاك حقوق الإنسان ومصادرة الحريات هو ما يضر بالأمن القومي Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies condemned an indictment against its programs director Mohamed Zaree over damaging Egypt’s national security.
خوف من ركود شديد في مصر بعد زيادة الفائدة Experts said that the central bank`s interest rate increase on lending and deposit is likely to aggravate stagflation and would not help attract Egyptian savings.
خبراء: حجب المواقع الإلكترونية بلا جدوى.. ويجب أن يكون بحكم قضائي Experts denounced the blocking of news websites in Egypt, stressing that this measure can only be taken by a court order and not by a security decision.
لسنا بهذا الضعف Amr Hamzawy writes about the resistance of Egypt’ civil society against state repression.