[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
A year of going up the stairs of Egypt’s obscure rooms of power A review of Mada Masr’s news and politics coverage.
More Prison Sentences, Fines Against Egypt’s Prominent Activists, Lawyers A Cairo criminal court has fined leading Egyptian activist Alaa Abdel Fattah to 30,000 LE in the case of insulting the judiciary. Politician Amr Hamzawy, TV presenter Tawfik Okasha, Al-Wafd Party member Mahmoud al-Sakka and lawyer Amir Salem were sentenced to 30,000 LE fine, according to lawyer Khaled Ali. The other twenty defendants in the same case have been sentenced to three years in prison.
Activists Mahienour al-Massry, Moatasem Medhat sentenced to 2 years in prison for Tiran and Sanafir protest An Alexandria misdemeanors court sentenced rights lawyer Mahienour al-Massry and Bread and Freedom Party member Moatasem Medhat to two years in prison on Saturday on protest-related charges, according to lawyer Mohamed Ramadan.
Insist on justice for Alaa and Mahienour The last time I saw Alaa Abd al-Fattah was two years ago in court. The last time I saw Mahienour al-Massry was six weeks ago in court.
Court sentences 20 charged with ‘insulting judiciary’ to 3 years, orders 23 to pay LE1 mn South Cairo Criminal Court sentenced twenty defendants accused of “insulting the judiciary” to three years in prison on Saturday. The other five defendants in the case — activist Alaa Abd al-Fattah, politician Amr Hamzawy, TV personality Tawfik Okasha, Wafd Party member Mahmoud al-Saqqa and lawyer Amir Salem — were sentenced to a 30,000 LE fine, according to lawyer Khaled Ali.
Rights groups reveal violations in trial of 15 executed men Six Egyptian rights groups issued a statement outlining violations in the military trial of fifteen men who were executed in Egypt on Tuesday.
Prosecution renews detention of Ibrahim Khalil for 15 days on charges of atheism The prosecution renewed the detention of Ibrahim Khalil for fifteen days on Monday, pending further investigation into charges of atheism and contempt of religion, Khalil’s cousin Botros Makkar reported.
Twitter suspends more accounts of Egyptian activists On December 12, 2017, Twitter shut down the account of prominent Egyptian cyberactivist Wael Abbas, along with subsequent accounts he set up. He received a message from Twitter notifying him of the action, saying, “Your account has been suspended and will not be restored, because it was found to be violating Twitter’s Terms of Service, specifically the Twitter Rules against hateful conduct.”
Presidential hopeful Mohamed Anwar al-Sadat claims National Security Agency prevented party from holding conference In a letter sent to the National Electoral Commission on Wednesday, addressed to Judge Lasheen Ibrahim and obtained by Mada Masr, presidential hopeful and leader of the Reform and Development Party Mohamed Anwar al-Sadat claimed that his party has been prevented from organizing a press conference by the National Security Agency.
Khaled Ali’s electoral campaign: Lift block on websites, end emergency state, extend publicity period for elections Khaled Ali’s electoral campaign argued during a press conference on Tuesday that a number of measures need to be put in place to ensure that the upcoming presidential elections are fair.
Newly elected student unions indicate the dissipation of politics from universities Attempts by the state to quell student activity since violent clashes swept universities in 2013 culminated last week in student union elections that produced politics-free unions.
Egyptian Female Parliamentarian Body-Shames EgyptAir Flight Attendants Egyptian parliamentarian Galila Othman slandered the appearance of female flight attendants at the country’s national carrier EgyptAir, describing them as “overweight and old”.
Egypt to Launch First Satellite for Scientific Research in 2018 Egypt to launch its first satellite for scientific research in July 2018 with the help of Japan and China, according to Egypt’s Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research Khaled Abdel-Ghaffar.
Economy
Egyptian companies obliged to label all food products with prices by January: Minister Egyptian companies will begin applying price tags to food products starting Monday or else be subject to legal penalties, state-run news agency MENA quoted Minister of Supply and Internal Trade Ali Moselhi as saying on Sunday.
Egypt’s Sisi discusses major new energy projects with acting PM, energy minister During a meeting on Saturday, Egypt’s president Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi instructed acting Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly and Minister of Electricity Mohamed Shaker to continue efforts to update the country’s electricity sector in accordance with the set timeframe, and to improve the service, a presidency spokesman said.
Egypt maintains customs exchange rate at 16 pounds per dollar in January 2018 Egypt will maintain its customs exchange rate at sixteen LE per US dollar, effective Monday, till the end of January 2018.
'Foreign borrowing is still necessary to develop infrastructure,' Egypt's investment minister tells MPs In a heated debate on Sunday, Egypt's MPs accused Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Sahar Nasr of drowning the country in an excess of foreign loans, but the minister fired back, saying that loans are still necessary for Egypt's economic development and most recent loans had been obtained by the private sector.
Foreign Relations
Egypt MPs slam US bill on Coptic discrimination in Egypt as “unacceptable interference” Egypt’s Parliament held a hearing on Wednesday in response to a resolution submitted to US Congress expressing concern over attacks on Coptic citizens in Egypt.
Egyptian, Palestinian Students in UK Attacked for Being Muslim An Egyptian and a Palestinian studying in the UK were attacked allegedly simply for being Muslim after wishing someone “Merry Christmas”.
Egypt Suggests Calling for Outside Experts to Help with Nile Dispute Egypt has suggested to Ethiopia and Sudan calling for international experts to help settle the Ethiopian dam project on the river Nile.
Domestic Security
Coptic Church to Hold Mass Funeral for Helwan Church Attack Victims A mass funeral will be held for the victims of Friday’s deadly attack on Christian worshippers in a Church in Helwan, the spokesperson for the Coptic Orthodox Church Paul Halim said in a statement.
9 Killed in Attack on Cairo Church Egypt’s Ministry of Health announced that nine people have been killed, including two police officers, and another ten were wounded in an attack on Mar Mina Church in Helwan, located in Greater Cairo.
Update: Attack on Helwan church and store kills 10 Attacks on Mar Mina Church and a Coptic-owned store in Cairo’s southern Helwan neighborhood after Coptic prayers on Friday morning killed at least ten people and injured several others.
Islamic State Claims Responsibility for Helwan Church Attack The terror sect the Islamic State has claimed responsibility for Friday’s attack on a church in the southern Cairo suburb of Helwan. However, as of yet the group has not provided any evidence that it in fact was behind the act.
Azhar’s Grand Imam Condemns Church Attack, Urges Muslims to Join Copts in Celebrations Grand Imam of al-Azhar Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb condemned on Friday the terrorist attack on Mar Mina Church in Helwan, located in Greater Cairo. The attack left at least nine dead and another ten wounded.
Egypt prosecutors to question suspect in Helwan church terrorist attack once his health stabilises Egypt’s High State Security Prosecution will question a suspect in Friday's terrorist attack on a Coptic church in Helwan, south of Cairo, as soon as his health stabilizes, the general prosecutor’s office said in a statement.
Accounts of the Mar Mina church attack Accounts of how a gunman killed nine people and was chased down by a resident from the neighborhood.
Behind the attack on Prince Tadros Church: The sound of a bell or the absence of law? A house that had been used as a place of worship by Christians in the village of Waslin, Atfieh in Giza was attacked and three worshippers assaulted on Friday.
Military commander of Bir al-Abd, 4 others killed in Sinai Five people were killed in three separate attacks in Sinai on Thursday, a security source told Mada Masr, while the Armed Forces spokesperson announced that six people were killed when an explosive device detonated near a military-owned vehicle.
Province of Sinai claims killings of Bir al-Abd military commander and 4 others Islamic State-affiliate Province of Sinai claimed on Friday multiple attacks that took place in North Sinai on Thursday, killing five people.
15 executed after being convicted of killing security forces in North Sinai Fifteen detainees were executed by Egyptian authorities on Tuesday, less than two months after being convicted of killing security forces in North Sinai, security sources confirmed to Reuters.
From Jadaliyya Egypt
Labor Struggles in the Arab World and the Bleak Situation in Egypt Today A STATUS Interview with Joel Beinin In this interview for STATUS, host Danny Postel speaks with Joel Beinin about is recent book Workers and Thieves: Labor Movements and Popular Uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt. This interview is part of the MENA Dialogues series produced by the Middle East and North African Studies Program at Northwestern University.
Arabic
في 7 أعوام.. أعياد الأقباط تتحول إلى جنائز Egyptian Copts continue to pay steep price for the terrorist attacks, which have been repeated over the last seven years, the latest of which is Helwan church attack on Friday.
حبس وحجز أموال.. الأزمات تضرب نقابة الصحفيين The Journalists Syndicate faces interlocking crises, regarded as indicative of a growing chasm between the syndicate's board interests and aspirations of its members.
«خبراء : هذه أسباب رفض مشروع قانون «منع زيارة الإرهابيين Analysts and lawmakers explain the reasons why they rejected the controversial bill on the denial of prison visits to terrorists.
هجوم برلماني على أمريكا بسبب «مذكرة الكونجرس» بشأن أقباط مصر MPs voiced their anger at the US Congress memo on rights violations against Copts in Egypt in the parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee meeting, stating that it falls short of evidence.
شهداء الثورة».. كيف تم بناء قصص الثوار البطولية؟» The article discusses the role of martyrs in Singing Revolution 1989 in Lithuania and the Egyptian Revolution of 25 January 2011, stressing the significant similarities between both revolutions.
لماذا عاد الدولار للارتفاع في مصر مجددًا؟ هذا هو السعر المتوقع في 2018 The Egyptian pound falls again against the dollar and analysts expect more turbulent rates in 2018.
خبراء يحذرون من تعديلات "الإجراءات الجنائية": تٌقيّد الحق في التقاضي Lawyers and human rights activists warned against the passage of the Criminal Procedures amendments, which would apply restrictions on the right to litigation.
«في 2017|البرلمان يمرر218 تشريع أبرزها «الهيئات القضائية» والتنازل عن «تيران وصنافير The article highlights the most controversial legislations of the parliament during 2017.
حبس الصحفيين ومصادرة الحريات.. إعلام 2017 الأسوأ Experts reflect on the deteriorating level of the freedom of expression in Egypt during the year of 2017.
الحكم بالإعدام على 10 متهمين في «أنصار بيت المقدس» وبراءة 83 آخرين The Military Court sentenced to death ten defendants in "Ansar Bait Al-Maqdis 3" case.
فساد بنك التنمية يهدر 17 مليون جنيه Corruption and waste of public funds are among other unscrupulous practices of the Bank for Development and Agricultural Credit, failing to address non-performing loans and debt relief.
العار وإنكار الأهل والتشرد.. جحيم المرض النفسي في مصر The article sheds light on the sufferance of incapacitated persons in Egypt after being treated.
أنصار السيسي بين توقيع الملايين وتمويل أصحاب المليارات Gilbert Ashkar writes about Sisi's presidential campaign and its public mobilization strategy.
محكمة مصرية تحبس 6 نشطاء دينوا بالتظاهر Alexandria Court handed down prison terms ranging from two to three years to lawyer and rights activist Mahinour Al-Masry and five others over illegal protests against Tiran and Sanafir demarcation agreement.