[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
Egypt`s top auditor Geneina removed by presidential decree Egypt’s president issued a televised decree relieving head of the Central Auditing Authority of his post with immediate effect Monday evening.
Auditors urge Sisi to respect Constitution after sacking Geneina Some members of the Central Auditing Authority urged President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Saturday to respect the constitutional protection of auditors following the sacking of top auditor Hesham Geneina last week.
Local civil society group blasts criticisms of NGO case, insists on Egyptian sovereignty The Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs — a Cairo-based civil society organization — issued a statement Sunday lambasting the Working Group on Egypt’s recent letter to US President Barack Obama, which urged him to “publicly and privately” condemn Egypt’s “accelerating crackdown on human rights and civil society."
New NGO draft law worse than previous laws due to National Security interference: Gamal Eid A new 2015 draft law governing the work of NGOs in Egypt has been influenced by National Security, making it worse than the government’s 2002 law, according to Executive Director of the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information Gamal Eid.
Interrogation of Nazra director postponed, lawyers not permitted to review case files The interrogation of Mozn Hassan, executive director of the Nazra For Feminist Studies center, was postponed, according to a statement released by the organization on Tuesday morning.
Appeal against Fatima Naoot sentence dropped, another appeal to be filed soon Poet Fatima Naoot`s appeal against her three-year prison sentence was dropped on Thursday, but another appeal will be filed in the next few days, according to her lawyer Sherif Adib.
Jailed novelist Ahmed Naji to receive PEN award The imprisoned novelist and journalist Ahmed Naji will receive the PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award in May, the PEN American Center announced in a statement Thursday.
Sister of Egypt Air hijacker reports his previous arrest for alleged hijacking attempt The Egyptian man who was arrested on 29 March for donning a fake explosive belt and forcing a Cairo-bound flight to divert to Cyprus had a previous arrest for allegedly contemplating an airplane hijacking, according to his sister.
Egyptian hijacker should be tried in Cyprus before extradition: Egypt FM spokesman Egypt’s foreign ministry spokesman said that the Egyptian who hijacked an EgyptAir flight on Tuesday, forcing its diversion to Cyprus, should be tried in that country before being extradited to Egypt in accordance with treaties between the two countries.
Update: EgyptAir says all hostages released, hijacker arrested EgyptAir officially declared the hijack of one of its planes to be over at around one pm on Tuesday, with all hostages released and the hijacker arrested in Cyprus, where the plane was forced to land earlier in the day.
Defense Ministry to train Parliament on combatting `fourth-generation warfare` Parliament members will receive a training course on national security, the dangers that the Middle East faces and “fourth-generation warfare” at the Defense Ministry-affiliated Nasser Military Academy throughout the month of April, Parliament’s general secretariat informed Members of Parliament on Tuesday.
Rassd reporter released pending trial in Helwan Brigades case The Cairo Criminal Court has ordered the release of Alya Awad, a reporter with the Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated Rassd News Network who is among the 215 defendants on trial for allegedly belonging to the Helwan Brigades, a Cairo-based militant group.
Policeman accused of deliberately killing civilian sentenced to life imprisonment The Cairo criminal court sentenced a policeman accused of deliberately killing a civilian in Darb al-Ahmar last February to twenty-five years in prison.
Former justice minister, TV host referred to criminal court for defaming former top auditor A Cairo appeals court has referred to the criminal court on Sunday two lawsuits in which a former justice minister and a TV host are accused of defaming former top auditor Hisham Geneina, who was recently dismissed by the president.
Number of judges sent into forced retirement for Brotherhood ties rises to 47 The judiciary`s High Disciplinary Council issued a final verdict on Monday mandating forced retirement for thirty-two judges who signed a statement in support of former President Mohamed Morsi shortly after he was deposed in July 2013.
Egypt court sentences 15 Morsi supporters to 25 years on 2013 violence charges A Cairo criminal court sentenced fifteen defendants to twenty-five years in prison in the trial of the so-called "Maspero 2 clashes" that took place in July 2013 following Islamist President Mohamed Morsi`s ouster.
Egyptian military court postpones verdict for 28 accused Morsi supporters for second time An Egyptian military court postponed on Wednesday to 24 April its issuing of a verdict in the trial of twenty-eight alleged supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi accused of planning attacks on military and police personnel.
CAPMAS: Population growth rate in Egypt decreases for first time in 10 years The population growth rate has decreased in Egypt for the first time in ten years, the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics announced in a press conference Saturday.
Farid Zahran elected new Social Democratic Party chairperson The Egyptian Social Democratic Party announced on Friday that Farid Zahran, formerly the deputy for party relations, had won the party’s internal elections and is now its new chairperson.
Egyptian mothers go online to demand reform of school curriculum As of Wednesday, more than sixteen thousand Facebook users have joined the “Egyptian mothers’ revolt against curricula” page, banding together in solidarity against the “outdated” school curriculum provided by the Ministry of Education and taught to their children.
"I feel your pain, just as I suffer... for my son": Mother of 2011 Uprising icon addresses Giulio Regeni`s mother The mother of a young Egyptian regarded as an icon of Egypt’s 2011 Uprising appeared in a video on Saturday expressing solidarity with the mother of an Italian who was tortured to death in Egypt.
Economy
Cabinet approves draft budget for 2016/17 targeting 9.9% deficit, 5.2% growth Egypt’s Cabinet approved on Wednesday a draft budget for the 2016/17 fiscal year, anticipating economic growth above 5.2 percent and a deficit of 9.9 percent.
Balance of payments deficit widens to $3.4 billion in first half of 2015/16 financial year Egypt’s balance of payments deficit rose to 3.4 billion USD in the first half of the 2015/16 financial year, up from 1 billion USD during the same period the year before.
As dollar crosses LE10 on black market, official rate steady For the second day in a row, black market traders sold dollars for more than 10 LE. Meanwhile, the Central Bank of Egypt held the official exchange rate steady at 8.78 LE per dollar in its weekly currency auction.
The hijacked EgyptAir flight: a blow to Egyptian tourism? The hijacked EgyptAir flight on Tuesday comes shortly after a series of security attacks that have substantially affected the tourism industry in Egypt, causing tourism revenues to sharply decline to 6 billion USD in 2015.
So many inventions, but so few patents Robert Barron examines Egypt`s “convoluted” intellectual property regulations.
Foreign Relations
Italian tourism association suspends Egypt activities until `truth` on Regeni`s murder is revealed The non-governmental Association for Italian Tourism declared in a statement on Saturday that all their package travel deals to Egypt would be suspended "until the tragic events of Regeni`s murder are revealed."
Parents of slain student Giulio Regeni question Egypt`s Interior Ministry claims In front of a large banner reading “Truth for Giulio Regeni,” the parents of the PhD student who was tortured and killed in Egypt spoke at a televised press conference at Italy’s Senate on Tuesday.
Egypt FM holds security-related talks in Washington Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry is in Washington to take part in the Nuclear Security Summit and has already held talks that touched on various security issues, said the foreign ministry`s spokesman.
Cairo says Washington keen to boost Egypt`s ailing economy Cairo has said Washington is keen to help stabilize Egypt`s battered economy and bolster its development plans, while stressing that there are strong ties between the two countries.
Kerry commends Egypt`s `counterterrorism efforts` during FM Washington visit Egypt is an important ally to the United States when it comes to combatting the many challenges facing the Middle East, United States Secretary of State John Kerry claimed late Wednesday during a meeting with Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, who arrived in Washington to participate in the Nuclear Security Summit.
`Egypt`s stability more important than any other time,` says US Senator Graham in Cairo US Senator Lindsey Graham said at a press conference on Sunday after meeting with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi in Cairo that Egypt`s stability "is more important than any other time.”
Egypt`s Sisi discusses counter-terrorism efforts with Bahraini King Egypt`s President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi discussed on Monday counter-terrorism efforts in a phone call with Bahraini King Sheikh Hamad bin Issa al-Khalifah.
Saudi-led alliance chiefs of staff agree to coordinate efforts Chiefs of staff of the Saudi-led Islamic military alliance agreed on Sunday, during a meeting held in Riyadh, on the importance of coordinating strategic efforts aimed at combating "terrorism" and its funding.
Egyptian FM Shoukry to meet France`s Mid East peace talks envoy on Sunday Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry will meet France’s envoy for its Israeli-Palestinian peace initiative, Pierre Vimont, on Sunday in Cairo, according to a statement by the Egyptian foreign ministry.
Mauritanian president arrives in Egypt for talks with Sisi Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz arrived in Cairo on Saturday for a three-day visit to conduct bilateral discussions with Egyptian counterpart Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi.
Domestic Security
Security forces kill alleged Ajnad Misr member in Giza raid An alleged member of militant group Ajnad Misr was killed in an apartment raid in the Giza district of Imbaba on Saturday, Giza Security Directorate reported.
Conscript, citizen dead as bomb detonated in Egypt`s North Sinai Arish A bomb detonated in Egypt`s North Sinai city of Arish, leaving a police conscript and another citizen dead, the spokesperson for Egypt`s interior ministry, General Abu-Bakr Abdel-Karim, said in a statement.
From Jadaliyya Egypt
The General Knows Best: Ridiculing Civilian Politics in Egypt Amr Hamzawy examines al-Sisi regime’s strategy of “ridiculing politics,” a conscious attempt to discredit civilian political life in its entirety while promoting the belief that only the generals are capable of governing the country.