[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 Sisi pledges sacrifices of Western Desert police victims of terrorism 'will not go in vain' Egypt President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi said the sacrifices of Egyptian security forces killed by militants on Friday "will not go in vain," in a meeting with the defense and interior ministers as well as other security officials.
Egypt frees Egyptian-Irish dual citizen Ibrahim Halawa after four years' detention Egyptian authorities freed Egyptian-Irish dual citizen Ibrahim Halawa on Friday after four years in detention.
Court adjourns Mada Masr website blocking case until November 26 Investigations into the lawsuit filed by Mada Masr against the blocking of its website have again been delayed, following an administrative court’s Sunday decision to adjourn the hearing until 26 November.
Prosecution to keep alleged rainbow flag wavers in detention pending investigations Egypt’s State Security Prosecution renewed the detention of Ahmed Alaa for fifteen days on Monday in connection to his alleged involvement in raising a rainbow flag in support of LGBTQ rights at a concert in Cairo last month.
Co-founder of anti-torture NGO Al-Nadeem prevented from traveling Authorities at Cairo International Airport prevented Suzanne Fayyad, co-founder of Al-Nadeem Center for the Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence and Torture, from traveling on Wednesday as she attempted to board a flight to Tunisia.
An uncomfortable court: Explaining the adjournment of Alaa Abd El Fattah’s appeal Judge Abdel Rahman Heikal, president of the Court of Cassation’s Circuit A, took activist Alaa Abd al Fattah’s request for appeal of the sentence he received in the Shura Council case off the list of appeals to be heard by the court on Thursday.
About Alaa: Prison isolates and so does your silence Twenty-five days to #FreeAlaa is a campaign led by friends, family and supporters of political prisoner and activist Alaa Abd al Fattah, highlighting two outstanding cases against him: One, which was adjourned on 19 October to 8 November, concerning the five-year sentence that Abd al Fattah has already served three-and-a-half years of, in relation to a protest outside the Shura Council building in November 2013 against military trials for civilians. The second is a case against him for “insulting the judiciary,” which was adjourned from 24 September until December, in which Abd al Fattah could face a fine and more years in prison.
#MeToo: Egypt Joins The Global Trend To Speak Up About Sexual Abuse Egyptians have joined the global hashtag #MeToo that exposes the scale of sexual harassment, that both men and women are subject to, to encourage people to come forward and speak up about their experiences with sexual abuse.
Cairo World’s Most Dangerous Megacity for Women 2017: Poll A new poll conducted by the Thomson Reuters Foundation released on Monday suggests that Cairo is the world’s most dangerous megacity for women.
Murdered priest exposes hidden aspects of sectarianism in popular Cairo neighborhood Father Samaan Shehata tried to propel himself forward with all the strength he could summon, after a cleanly-shaven young man in a galabeya with a sword stabbed him on 12 October. He eventually fell, as Ahmed Saeed, the young man, chased him through the rubble until they reached a steel warehouse where the priest had tried to take refuge, and Saeed stabbed him multiple times until he died.
Egypt court issues death sentences to 11 members of 'Giza terrorist cell' The fifth Terrorism Circuit at the Giza criminal court sentenced eleven people, including four people in absentia, to death in the trial known in media as the "Giza terrorist cell.
Egypt Approves First Major Draft Traffic Law in 40 Years The Egyptian government approved on Wednesday a long-awaited new draft traffic law that is set to introduce new regulations for issuing driver’s licenses and heftier penalties for traffic violators, an official statement read.
Egypt's parliament approves three-month nationwide state of emergency Egypt's parliament approved during a plenary session Sunday a presidential decree declaring a three-month nationwide state of emergency.
'Government vows that emergency law will not come at expense of freedoms and rights,' Egypt PM tell MPs In a brief statement before parliament on Sunday, Prime Minister Sherif Ismail told Members of Parliament that President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi's decree issued 12 October declaring a new state of emergency across the country for three months comes in time to help the government fight terrorist attacks that aim to disrupt the nation's march towards development.
Economy
With New Power Plants, Egypt’s Solar Investments Surge in 2017 With the approval of three new solar power plants under a 500 million USD financing package by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, investments in Egypt’s solar energy sector hit record levels in 2017.
‘We Innovate’ Upper Egypt’s Entrepreneurship, Innovation Hub Kicks off in Assiut Entrepreneurs gathered in Assuit City to take part of ‘We Innovate’ initiative, entrepreneurship and innovation hub dedicated to the youth of Upper Egypt, on 15 October.
13 Egyptian Businesses Make Forbes’ Top List of Arab Startups As many as thirteen Egyptian startups made the Forbes list of the Arab world’s top one hundred startups in 2017.
Egypt Records 13.9 Percent Growth in Agricultural Exports Since January As part of a growing trend, Egypt recorded a 13.9 percent increase in its exports of agricultural products during the first nine months of 2017, agriculture ministry spokesman Hamid Abdel Dayim said on Sunday.
Foreign Relations
International condemnation of killing of Egyptian policemen by terrorists in Western Desert continues The United Nations Security Council and the European Union condemned the Friday killing of sixteen Egyptian policemen in a shootout with terrorists in Western Desert, continuing international condemnation of the event.
Germany cancels cyber training with Egyptian security, fearing rights abuses German police have canceled scheduled training for Egyptian security officials on the monitoring of extremist websites on Thursday, citing concerns by the government that “these skills could be used to target other groups” and internet users, according to a report by the Associated Press.
France's Macron to receive Egypt's Sisi in Paris on 24 October French President Emmanuel Macron will meet President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Tuesday, the 24th of October, as part of his official visit to Paris from 23 to 25 of October.
Egypt's foreign ministry says respecting Spain's constitution key to resolving Catalonian crisis Egypt's foreign ministry stressed in a statement Sunday the necessity of respecting the Spanish constitution as a key factor to solve the Catalonian crisis, affirming that Cairo recognizes the situation as an internal Spanish affair.
Domestic Security
24 Militants, 6 Soldiers Killed in North Sinai Attacks: Statement At least twenty-four militants and six soldiers were killed in attacks targeting multiple security checkpoints, in the Kawadis area, in North Sinai on Sunday, according to a statement by the military spokesperson Tamer al-Refaei.
Update: Over 50 police officers killed in clashes with militants in Bahariya Oasis At least fifty-three police officers have been killed in clashes with militants near the Bahariya Oasis in the Wahat area of the Giza Governorate, in an attempted raid on a number of militant cells in the area
Who was behind the attack in the Bahariya Oasis? After news began to spread that clashes between militants and police forces had broken out in the Bahariya Oasis on Friday, which, according to a security source that spoke to Mada Masr, left over fifty security forces officers dead, speculations arose regarding the group behind the attack
Egypt's media syndicate suspends TV host Ahmed Moussa over alleged recordings of Wahat terrorist shootoutEgypt’s Media Personnel Syndicate said on Sunday it has suspended TV host Ahmed Moussa and his show after an episode on Saturday that broadcast sound recordings allegedly made during Friday's shootout between police and terrorists in the Western Desert.
Alleged voice recordings on Wahat clashes with terrorists lack source and are non-realistic: Egypt's Ministry of Interior Egypt's interior ministry issued a statement on Saturday saying that alleged voice recordings broadcast in some media outlets claiming to describe events during Friday's deadly confrontation between police and terrorists in Egypt's Western Desert are unsourced and also make claims that bear no relation to reality.
Conflicting Reports About Number of Dead in Egypt’s Wahat Attack A day after deadly clashes transpired between Egyptian police and suspected militants in the Western Desert on Monday, conflicting reports regarding the number of killed security personnel emerge.
The who, what and where of the Bahariya Oasis attack The facts about the clashes that took place between security forces and armed militants in the Western Desert’s Bahariya Oasis remain unclear due to the scarcity of information, even after the Interior Ministry has issued two statements on the attack eighteen hours apart.
The Western Desert: The other front in the Egyptian ‘war on terror' Since the military, armed with popular support, ousted former President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013, North Sinai has become the main arena where the so-called war on terror has played out. Ansar Beit al-Maqdes, a militant group that pledged allegiance to the Islamic State in 2014 and renamed itself Province of Sinai, has carried out most of the strikes in the area against the military and police.
From Jadaliyya Egypt
New Texts Out Now: Dalia F. Fahmy and Daanish Faruqi, eds. Egypt and the Contradictions of Liberalism: Illiberal Intelligentsia and the Future of Egyptian Democracy An interview with Dalia F. Fahmy and Daanish Faroui on their new work, Egypt and the Contradictions of Liberalism: Illiberal Intelligentsia and the Future of Egyptian Democracy.