[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
After nineteen months in remand detention, researcher Patrick George Zaki was referred on September 13 to trial before an emergency court on charges of “spreading false news at home and abroad” for an article he wrote two years ago depicting his life as a Christian in Egypt.
The imprisoned activist Alaa Abd El Fattah has signaled that he is contemplating suicide, his lawyer Khaled Ali said in a statement on Monday night.
Four people sentenced to death over 2013 police station attack in Upper Egypt
A Minya Criminal court has sentenced four people to death by hanging and twenty-two others to life in prison for raiding and torching a police station, which resulted in the death of two policemen, in August 2013 in Samalut, Minya.
Egypt launched its first national human rights strategy in a high-profile ceremony on Saturday attended by the president, foreign minister and Cairo’s permanent representative to the United Nations that marked the culmination of months of planning beset by delays in the rollout.
Ten human rights organizations today said they stood in full solidarity with leaders and members of the Egyptian Coordination for Rights and Freedoms, whose trial begins this Saturday, 11 September, before an Emergency State Security Criminal Court, over charges relating solely to their peaceful work in defense of victims of torture, arbitrary detention, forced disappearances and the arbitrary deprivation of the right to life.
Egyptian security forces have killed dozens of people they allege to be terrorists in extrajudicial killings between January 2015 and December 2020, according to Human Rights Watch, which said in a new report released on Tuesday morning that the killings were disguised as “shootouts” between security forces and alleged armed militants.
High Administrative Court rejects parole for prisoners convicted in terrorism cases
Egypt's High Administrative Court upheld on Wednesday a previous lower administrative court verdict rejecting the parole of prisoners who were found guilty and sentenced to prison in cases related to terrorism and joining the terrorist-designated Muslim Brotherhood.
After over 7 years’ detention in Egypt, 2 Eritrean migrants face deportation
Two Eritrean nationals are facing deportation from Egypt within the next few days after over seven years’ detention in Qanater Men’s Prison, several sources and a lawyer told Mada Masr.
Egypt's Sisi declares 2022 Year of Civil Society as National Strategy for Human Rights launched
In a speech at the launch of the strategy from the New Administrative Capital, El-Sisi urged the civil society to "continue working hard side by side with the state institutions to achieve sustainable development in all fields."
Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said Saturday the state has prepared its new human rights strategy through a scientific and consultative approaches that included expanded community dialogue and discussions involving the National Council for Human Rights, parliament, and civil society organizations.
Since early August, lawyers told Mada Masr that National Security Agency officers have been described in at least three prisons questioning political prisoners, including Islamists, about how they would describe conditions in detention, with those giving answers deemed “acceptable” told to expect a presidential pardon in the coming weeks. A government source said the final list of names rests with the president, who reviews proposals in light of multiple considerations, including foreign policy.
A US judge has dismissed the lawsuit filed by Egyptian-American citizen Mohamed Soltan against former Egyptian Prime Minister Hazem al-Beblawi, in which Soltan accused Beblawi of targeting him with attempted extrajudicial killing and for directing and overseeing the use of torture on him.
Foreign Policy
Egypt agrees to look at proposal for resuming GERD talks under African Union, says govt source
Egypt has promised the Democratic Republic of Congo, which holds the revolving premiership at the head of the African Union this year, to look at new “ideas” that Kinshasa delivered to Cairo on Thursday regarding the future course of talks on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam and the future management of Nile resources, an Egyptian government source told Mada Masr.
Egypt FM Shoukry stresses need to revive ME peace process to Israeli counterpart
Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry has stressed to his Israeli counterpart Yair Lapid the need to revive the Middle East peace process through direct negotiations between the Palestinians and Israel, which last collapsed in 2014.
Biden administration condition portion of Egypt’s security aid to rights, civil society files
Around 10 percent of the 1.3 billion US dollars that the United States pays to Egypt in security aid is to be conditioned on Cairo making changes in two rights files, US officials told the Washington Post on Monday night.
Sisi discusses Middle East peace process with Israeli PM Bennett in Sharm El-Sheikh
Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi discussed on Monday the latest developments concerning the peace process in the Middle East with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett in the Egyptian city of Sharm El-Sheikh, the Egyptian presidency said.
Egypt-Turkey ties could be restored this year if outstanding issues resolved: Egyptian PM
The Egyptian-Turkish diplomatic ties could be restored this year in case the outstanding issues are overcome, the Egyptian premier said Thursday, only one day after both countries wrapped up the latest round of bilateral talks meant to normalize the long-frayed ties.
Egypt committed to negotiations over the past 10 years to solve GERD issue: FM Shoukry
Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said that Egypt has committed itself for negotiations to solve the tension over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) over the past ten years and still seeking a peaceful resolution to solve this issue based on the international law and the best practice.
Egypt, Arab League welcome formation of new Lebanese government
Egypt has welcomed the formation of a new Lebanese government, headed by Najib Mikati, praising this important step towards achieving the interests of Lebanon.
Egypt stresses support to all Arab nations amid current challenges, welcomes recent reconciliations
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry has reiterated Egypt’s commitment to stand by all Arab countries to endure the current exceptional circumstances, voicing Cairo's welcome of the recent reconciliations between Arabs.
FM Sameh Shoukry affirm Egypt’s keenness on backing UNRWA's role in supporting Palestinians
Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry reiterated Egypt's constant keenness on supporting the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and the important role the agency is playing in backing the Palestinian refugees.
Egypt’s FM urges int'l, regional parties to push Palestinian-Israeli peace process forward
Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry urged international and regional parties on Thursday to fulfil their role in providing the proper climate for pushing forward the Israeli-Palestinian peace process during the coming period.
Egyptian and Russian parliamentary speakers discuss GERD, joint projects
Hanafy Gebaly, the speaker of Egypt’s House of Representatives, and Valentina Matviyenko, the speaker of Russia’s Federation Council, met on Wednesday to discuss relations between the two countries.
Gulf security is a ‘red line’: Egypt’s parliament speaker
Speaker of the House of Representatives Hanafy El-Gebaly said on Tuesday that Gulf security is “a red line”, stressing Egypt's rejection of any attempts to hinder the freedom of navigation in the Arabian Gulf and interfere in the internal affairs of the Arab World.
Economy
Egypt’s annual headline inflation accelerates to 6.4% in August, monthly rate declines by 0.1%
Egypt’s annual headline inflation rate jumped to 6.4 percent in August; double the rate recorded in the same month of 2020 at 3.6 percent and the highest since December 2020, the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS) announced on Thursday.
Egypt to deliver natural gas to Lebanon through Jordan, Syria
It has been agreed to deliver the Egyptian natural gas to the Lebanese through Jordanian and Syrian pipelines, with putting a plan of action and a timetable for its implementation, announced the Jordanian Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources in a statement.
EBRD considering €250 million sovereign loan for Egypt to modernise Cairo's Metro line 2
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) announced that it is considering directing a sovereign loan worth 250 million euros to Egypt’s government as a fund to modernize and rehabilitate Cairo’s Metro line 2.
Egypt allocates EGP 244.7bn to transport sector in FY2021/22: Hala El-Said
Egypt has allocated 244.7 billion Egyptian pounds of investments to the country’s transport sectors in fiscal year (FY) 2021/22, Minister of Planning and Economic Development Hala El-Said said on Thursday.
Despite denying it planned to do so in January, the United Company of Pharmacists, one of Egypt’s largest drug distributors, has undertaken preliminary but serious steps to acquire an unspecified stake in the heavily indebted 19011 pharmaceutical chain, according to three sources with knowledge of the deal who spoke to Mada Masr.
Domestic Security
2 mln doses of coronavirus vaccine allocated to public servants in Egypt: Health Ministry
Egypt's Minister of Health Hala Zayed announced on Wednesday that two million doses of coronavirus vaccines have been allocated to public servants nationwide so far.
Jurist of IS terrorist group in Sinai turns himself in to Egyptian Military Intelligence
The mufti (jurist) of the Islamic State terrorist group in Sinai has turned himself in to the Egyptian Military Intelligence in North Sinai, tribal sources told Daily News Egypt on Saturday.
From Jadaliyya
Mona El-Ghobashy, Bread and Freedom: Egypt’s Revolutionary Situation (New Texts Out Now)
“The book’s argument is that Egypt’s uprising, and I would venture the Arab uprisings as a whole, are productively characterized as revolutionary situations where ruling elites disintegrated, but were not swept away in toto.” El-Ghobashy writes.
Arabic
A judge dropped on Monday charges against four organizations that were investigated in a decade-long case targeting over twenty NGOs accused of receiving foreign funding to harm national security in Case 173/2011.
تجديد حبس صفوان ثابت ونجله ورجب السويركي في اتهامهم ب”تمويل الإخوان”
The Emergency State Security Criminal Court renewed the detention of businessmen Safwa Thabet, Seif Thabet, and Ragab Sowerky for forty-five days over financing a terrorist organization charges.
المكس بين “مخططات التطوير” و”مخاوف هدم التراث”.. الأهالي يحتجون والحكومة تعد بتعويضات
Alexandria’s Max residents expressed their opposition to the government plan to demolish their buildings and demanded the authorities to develop their neighborhood.
علاء عبد الفتاح: مخاطبة 9 مؤسسات في الدولة لتمكين محتجز من التريض
The family of imprisoned activist Alaa Abdel Fattah tells the difficulties they have been facing to visit him and exchange letters, amid the authorities’ negligence to their demands.
The security force at the American University in Cairo adjourned a meeting at the department of Political Science under the pretext that organizers did not provide a two-week notice to the university’s security force, according to the Political Science Professor Mustapha El-Sayed.
تطوير «نزلة السمان»: حبس ونقل وإزالات دون توضيح «الخطة» للأهالي
Six residents of Nazlet al-Semman were held in remand over charges of protesting without a permit, rallying, and inciting violence.
Human rights organizations condemned the decision of the Supreme State Security Prosecution to refer Patrick Zaki to an emergency court, on charges of “spreading false news at home and abroad”.