[This is a collection of news updates on Egypt compiled from multiple sources by the editors.]
Islamists Plan Rallies on Tuesday Marking Two Months of Morsi Ouster
Supporters of Egypt`s ousted president Morsi vow mass demos on Tuesday to commemorate his overthrow two months previously.
The National Alliance to Support Legitimacy has called for a new round of demonstrations on Tuesday to commemorate the ouster of president Mohamed Morsi two months ago on 3 July.
Nationwide rallies were organized on Friday by the alliance, a Muslim Brotherhood-led pro-Morsi group, with some ending in clashes with security forces.
Protests in recent weeks have seen smaller numbers than previously as pro-Brotherhood demonstrations have increasingly been met with violence by security forces. A wave of arrests of top Brotherhood figures have also taken their toll on the group’s ability to mobilize, with at least 2,000 Islamists detained since a mid-August crackdown on pro-Morsi protest camps in Cairo, during which more than 600 protesters were killed.
Egypt`s health ministry said eight people were killed in Friday`s clashes pitting Islamists against Morsi`s opponents and security forces.
The National Alliance to Support Legitimacy called on its followers in a statement late on Sunday to press on "strongly and peacefully" with daily protests to "reclaim legitimacy and condemn the coup."
Morsi, who hails from the Brotherhood, was removed by Egypt`s military in the wake of mass protests against his one-year rule. Detained by the military at a secret location since his ouster, Morsi was subsequently charged with a number of offences. On Sunday, the general prosecution referred him to court on charges of inciting the murder of protesters, in an incident that took place in December 2012. Fourteen other members of the Brotherhood are defendants in the same case, which is the first charge against Morsi to go to trial thus far.
The alliance did not announce the locations of the planned demonstrations on Tuesday, which will be held under the banner "the coup is terrorism,” but said protests would take place in all squares across the country, with press conferences expected to be held to expose the "crimes of the coup."
The Egyptian interim government, for its part, has called its crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood and its allies a "campaign on terrorism."
[This article originally appeared on Ahram Online]
Egypt`s Constitutional Committee Marginalizes Islamists: Nour Party
Salafist Nour Party says committee tasked with drafting new constitution is dominated by leftists and Nasserists, Islamists under-represented.
Egypt`s newly formed constitutional committee marginalizes the Islamic current, the Nour Party has complained.
"The formation of the committee is really bad and reflects the domination of the leftist-Nasserist faction," Sherif Taha, spokesperson for Egypt`s largest Salafist party, said in a statement on Sunday.
The fifty-member committee includes only two Islamists: ex-Muslim Brotherhood leader Kamal El-Helbawy and Nour Party deputy leader Bassam El-Zarqa.
Taha added that his party was still evaluating the situation, stressing that "all options are on the table."
Nour was Egypt’s second largest bloc in the now-dissolved 2012 parliament and participated in the controversial Constituent Assembly, which drafted the 2012 constitution.
A week before the fifty nominees were announced, Nour Party spokesperson Nader Bakkar told Ahram Online he was worried about unequal representation on the constitutional committee.
Bakkar explained that his party did not want to stall Egypt`s transition process, despite being "underrepresented" in the constitution writing process.
Meanwhile, Salafist Call leader Yasser Borhami said the committee was dominated by "enemies of Sharia [Islamic law] and the Islamic project."
He further complained that while the Islamic current had been marginalized from the committee, at least eleven leftists and Nasserists were included.
"A real national dialogue within two months is not possible due to excessive differences on several matters," Borhami added at a press statement on Monday.
Nour had earlier said it would boycott the constitutional committee after Article 219 was removed by the technical committee that amended the constitution before passing it on to the broader committee. The party later retreated, saying the issue could still be debated by the fifty-member committee.
Article 219 defined Sharia (Islamic law), which is mentioned in Article 2 as the main source of legislation in Egypt. The article was added by the Islamist-dominated Constituent Assembly in 2012. It states: "The principles of Islamic Sharia include its commonly accepted interpretations, its fundamental and jurisprudential rules and its widely considered sources, as stated by the schools of Sunna and Gamaa."
The Salafist party warned that eliminating this article was an attempt to move Egyptians away from their "Islamic identity."
Presidential spokesman Ihab Badawi announced on Sunday the composition of the fifty-member committee tasked with amending the suspended 2012 constitution.
The committee will examine amendments drawn up by a separate committee of legal experts formed in July, and will produce a final draft of the constitution within sixty days.
Interim President Adly Mansour will then put the constitution to a national referendum within thirty days of receiving the final draft. It will be effective upon public approval.
The 2012 constitution was suspended as part of a roadmap put forth by the Egyptian armed forces, together with political groups and religious figures, which saw former president Mohamed Morsi ousted on 3 July following mass protests
[This article originally appeared on Ahram Online.]
Judicial Advisory Body Recommends Dissolution of Egypt`s Brotherhood
State Commissioners Authority, which advises the government, calls for dissolution of Muslim Brotherhood based on law prohibiting formation of paramilitary groups by non-governmental organizations.
Egypt`s State Commissioners Authority, a body that advises the government on legal issues, has recommended the dissolution of the Muslim Brotherhood.
In an announcement on Monday, the Authority also called for the group’s national headquarters in Cairo’s Moqattam to be closed.
The recommendations were made in accordance with Law 84 of 2002, which prohibits non-government organizations and institutions from forming paramilitary groups.
The Authority`s recommendations to the government are non-binding.
In March 2013, the Muslim Brotherhood, outlawed since the 1950s, was officially registered as a non-governmental organisation by the Ministry of Social Security.
After the removal of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi on 3 July, then minister of social affairs Nagwa Khalil asked whether the Brotherhood’s headquarters had contained weapons and whether there were militias or militant groups linked to the group.
The questions were asked after eight people died on 1 July in clashes at the Brotherhood HQ in Moqattam after dozens of protesters stormed the building.
Several Muslim Brotherhood leaders, including Supreme Guide Mohamed Badie and his deputies Khairat El-Shater and Rashad Bayoumi, appeared at a criminal court on 31 July for allegedly inciting the killing of protesters at the group’s HQ.
[This article originally appeared on Ahram Online]
El-Beltagy Detained Further Fifteen Days for Incitement of Violence Charges
The leading Muslim Brotherhood member is already in detention for thirty days pending investigation in other charges.
Al-Azbakiya prosecution office in Downtown Cairo has ordered the further detention of Muslim Brotherhood leading figure, Mohamed El-Beltagy, for fifteen days pending investigation into charges for incitement of violence in the clashes of Ramses square last July.
The Al-Azbakiya prosecution office in Cairo’s Ramses area questioned Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed El-Beltagy earlier on Monday at Tora Prison, where he is being detained.
El-Beltagy is accused of inciting members of the Brotherhood to block Cairo`s 6th of October Bridge on 16 July and building a concrete wall to shield them while they attacked police forces and civilians in Ramses Square with firearms. Three conscripts and five citizens were injured during the clashes.
The leading Brotherhood figure has also been accused of inciting supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi to torch Al-Azbakiya police station and destroy the Metro station in the same area.
Following his arrest on Thursday in Giza, El-Beltagy was referred to the criminal court on Sunday, along with ousted president Mohamed Morsi, for inciting the killing of protesters outside the presidential palace in December 2012. El-Beltagy was also detained for 30 days, pending investigations into charges regarding his involvement in the clashes of Al-Nahda square as well as at the presidential palace.
[This article originally appeared on Ahram Online.]
AJE Cairo Bureau Raided
Security forces raided the Cairo offices of Al Jazeera English on Sunday, confiscating broadcasting equipment and arresting the office’s financial manager, MostafaHawa, a source from the Qatar-based satellite news channel told MadaMasr.
The authorities reportedly entered the offices at five pm in the evening, interrogated the financial manager in the office and left. They then returned to the bureau to confiscate the equipment and arrested Hawa, taking him to the police station. The source said the raid lasted for about six hours.
Prosecution has subsequently ordered Hawa`s release on 10,000 Egyptian pounds bail on charges of illegal operation, but as of early Monday evening he was still in custody.
The source, who declined to be identified due to security reasons, said that the channel is licensed and officially registered.
"There was no need for such a raid. It is just because we have the Al Jazeera brand name," the source alleged.
On Sunday, authorities deported three foreign Al Jazeera reporters for allegedly using unlicensed satellite transmitters and working in Egypt without the proper permits, the state-run newspaper Al-Ahram reported.
An official at Cairo International Airport told Al-Ahram that the reporters boarded a flight to London under heavy security and did not bring any of their equipment with them.
Al Jazeera English correspondent Wayne Hay, cameraman Adil Bradlow and producer Russ Finn were detained on Tuesday with their Egyptian colleague Baher Mohamed while covering events in Egypt, the Associated Press reported.
Al Jazeera Mubasher Misr was officially banned from broadcasting last week when the minister of investment asserted that the channel was not officially registered with Egyptian authorities and was broadcasting unlawfully.
The crackdown on the channel has been seen by some as an expression of the Armed Force’s discomfort with the channel`s coverage since former President Mohamed Morsi’s ouster on 3 July. The state has accused the channel of bias towards the Muslim Brotherhood.
[This article originally appeared on Mada Masr.]
Two Injured in Boulaq Attack
Two construction workers were injured on Monday after two unidentified men allegedly threw an explosive device at the Boulaq police station, the state-owned Middle East News Agency (MENA) reported.
A security source claimed that three unknown assailants threw a bomb at the police station and fled the scene. General Kamal al-Dally, head of the Security Directorate, called on police forces to identify and arrest the assailants.
Also on Monday, in Minya police forces arrested three suspects and killed a fourth who were accused of involvement in an attack on the Maghagha police station following the violent dispersal of two pro-Morsi sit-ins in Cairo two weeks ago.
The victim was killed when security forces exchanged gunfire with the suspects prior to making the arrests.
[This article originally appeared on Mada Masr.]
Court Shuts Down Al-Hafez Channel
The Administrative Court ordered the Islamist television station Al-Hafez to cease broadcasting, and the withdrawal of its operating company’s license on Monday.
Actor Hany Ramzy had filed a lawsuit against the channel after talk show presenter Abdallah Badr insulted him on air, calling Ramzy a criminal and a clown, and threatening to shoot the comedian and others like him dead with a rifle.
Hours after former President Mohamed Morsi was deposed, five Islamist channels were taken off air and journalists were arrested onsite. The journalists were released shortly thereafter, and two of the channels resumed broadcast a few weeks later.
The court rejected a case filed by lawyers demanding the closure of Al-Nahar channel. The suit accused one of the channel`s main presenters, Mahmoud Saad, of libel and defamation.
The court ruled that the plaintiffs were not personally affected by the allegations and hence not entitled to sue. Furthermore, the presenter did not exceed the accepted limits of free speech, the court asserted.
Last week, the government issued an administrative order to close Al Jazeera Mubasher Misr on the basis that it was operating illegally and with no professional standards, thus endangering national security.
The court announced that on Tuesday it would rule on cases demanding the shutdown of four other channels accused of threatening the social order and broadcasting false news.
[This article originally appeared on Mada Masr.]
Egypt Brotherhood Leader Saad El-Husseini Arrested in Cairo
Another leading figure of the Muslim Brotherhood-former governor of Kafr El-Sheikh-is arrested by security forces.
Egyptian security forces arrested Muslim Brotherhood leading figure Saad El-Husseini on Monday, as part of an ongoing crackdown on the Islamist group`s members, following the ouster of former president Mohamed Morsi amidst mass popular protests.
El-Husseini was located and taken from a house in the district of New Cairo on the outskirts of the capital on Monday evening.
Fifty-four year old El-Husseini is a member of the Muslim Brotherhood`s Guidance Bureau–the group`s highest administrative board–and a senior member in the group`s Freedom and Justice Party.
He is also the former governor of the Delta governorate of Kafr El-Sheikh.
Dozens of leading Brotherhood figures, including the group`s Supreme Guide Mohamed Badie, and hundreds of members have been arrested since security forces dispersed two large pro-Morsi protest camps in Cairo on 14 August, during which hundreds were killed.
Most of the Brotherhood leaders who have been arrested over the last few weeks have been accused of `inciting violence` during clashes that broke out in the wake of the ouster of Morsi, who hails from the Brotherhood.
[This article originally appeared on Ahram Online.]
Secular Political Forces Satisfied With Egypt`s Constitution-Amending Committee
Socialist Popular Alliance Party and Egyptian Social Democratic Party, among other political groups, say fifty-member committee representative of Egyptian people; Salafist Nour Party critiques minimal Islamist representation.
Egypt`s newly formed fifty-member constitution-amending committee has been mostly criticized by Islamist groups and praised by many secular political groups.
The makeup of the committee, announced Sunday by the presidency, includes only a few Islamists and critics of the ouster of ex-president Mohamed Morsi by the army on 3 July following mass popular protests.
Abdel Ghafar Shukr, the leader of the Socialist Popular Alliance Party, praised the new constitutional amendment committee in press statements on Monday, describing it as being representative of all Egyptians.
"Most of the committee`s members have been elected through authorities and syndicates, like the representatives of the students unions, syndicates of journalists and lawyers, as well as the members of political parties," said the Leftist politician, adding that public figures selected for the committee also represent Egyptian society.
Ayman Abu-Ela, Secretary of Parliamentary Affairs in the Egyptian Social Democratic Party, expressed his complete satisfaction with the formation of the fifty-member committee.
"The committee was chosen carefully when it comes to diversity," he said in a statement on Monday, praising the representation of youth in the committee.
However, Abu-Ela believes there should be a larger representation of women in the committee, which currently includes five women.
Mohamed Abu El-Ghar, leader of the Egyptian Social Democratic Party, is a member of the committee as a representative of liberal powers.
The `Rebel` (Tamarod) group, which called for the 30 June nationwide protests that paved the way for the armed forces to topple Morsi, also praised the make-up of the fifty-member constitution committee.
Mai Wahba, a spokesperson for the group, told Al-Ahram’s Arabic website on Monday that the committee was diverse and representative, saying that the anti-Morsi Rebel campaign`s proposals have largely been met.
Two of the `Rebel` campaign`s founders, Mahmoud Badr and Mohamed Abdel-Aziz, have been included in the committee.
`Illegitimate`
On the other hand, the Salafist Nour Party filed a complaint in a statement earlier on Monday, saying that the newly formed constitutional committee marginalizes the Islamist current. The party added that it is still evaluating the situation and "all options are on the table."
"The formation of the committee is really bad and reflects the domination of the leftist-Nasserist faction," the Nour statement reads.
The Nour Party has approved the roadmap that was announced by army-chief Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi following the removal of president Morsi from office.
The Salafist party has warned that eliminating certain articles from the suspended-2012 constitution concerning Sharia law is an attempt to move Egyptians away from their "Islamic identity."
Alaa Abu El-Nasr, general secretary of the Building and Development Party, the political arm of the ultra-conservative Al-Gama`a Al-Islamiyaa, has criticized the announcement of the fifty-member committee`s formation, saying that it does not give legitimacy to the current interim-government.
"The current regime does not have any democratic legitimacy. Our position following the ousting of president Morsi is clear; we consider the amendment of the constitution illegitimate," said the member of the Building and Development Party, adding that his party has refused any part in the committee.
"How could the people accept an unelected constituent assembly when the opposition in the time of president Morsi used to attack a constituent assembly chosen by an elected president," Abu El Nasr said.
The Building and Development Party and Al-Gama`a Al-Islamiyaa are founding members of the Muslim Brotherhood-led coalition.
The coalition, named the National Alliance to Support Legitimacy, has already declared its complete refusal to adhere to the roadmap announced by Egypt`s interim government after the ousting of Morsi.
The Muslim Brotherhood, from which Morsi hails, has been critical of the suspension of the 2012 constitution and any moves to revise it since Morsi`s ouster.
Presidential spokesman Ihab Badawi announced on Sunday the composition of the fifty-member committee that has been tasked with amending the suspended 2012 constitution.
The committee will examine amendments drawn up by a separate group of legal experts formed in July, and is to produce a final draft of the constitution within sixty days.
Interim President Adly Mansour will then put the constitution to a national referendum within thirty days of receiving the final draft. It will become effective upon public approval.
The 2012 constitution was suspended as part of the roadmap put forth by the Egyptian armed forces, together with political groups and public figures.
Under Morsi, Egypt`s non-Islamist political forces have repeatedly argued the suspended constitution was not representative of all layers of society and limited many freedoms, blaming the majority Islamist members of the outgoing constituent assembly for ignoring their recommendations.
[This article originally appeared on Ahram Online.]
Three Zamalek Players Arrested For `Abusing Military Officer`
Shikabala, Soliman and Emam arrested at Cairo airport for `abusing a military officer`, Ahram Sports reported.
Zamalek trio Mahmoud Abdel-Razek (aka `Shikabala`), Salah Soliman and Hazem Emam have been arrested at Cairo airport and transmitted to Al-Nozha police station for reportedly abusing a military officer, Ahram Sports reported.
The Zamalek team trip from Hurghada to Cairo was delayed for over an hour on Monday after the team`s star player Shikabala was involved in a personal conflict with an officer at the airport.
"While the Zamalek delegation was at the airport, a pilot officer was at the cafeteria with his wife. The pilot was wearing a red jersey, supporting Zamalek rival Ahly. A verbal dispute occurred between him and Shikabala, developing into a physical confrontation," manager of Hurghada airport, Sami Abdel-Menem, told Ahram Arabic gate.
Zamalek fans commented it`s "Shikabala`s turn for disputes with military in media reports," after Ahly star Mohamed Abou-Treika, who was linked last month to a similar case, denied allegations.
The players filed a complaint at Cairo Airport as soon as they landed, a source revealed to Ahram Arabic gate.
"Shikabala didn`t start the dispute, it was the officer who started teasing the players with his red shirt (the jersey`s color of their arch-rivals Ahly)," Hamada Anwar, a member of Zamalek`s football staff told Ahram Sport.
The Cairo-based team was returning from Gouna after winning to South Africa`s Orlando Pirates 2-1 on Sunday in round four of the African Champions League group stage.
[This article originally appeared on Ahram Online.]