[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
Egyptians seen in jail ‘torture’ videos charged with spreading fake news
Detainees seen in videos allegedly showing torture in a Cairo police station inflicted their injuries on themselves, according to Egyptian authorities, who have charged the prisoners with spreading “fake news”.
Prison sentence against Alaa Abd El Fattah, lawyer Mohamed Baqer, blogger Mohamed Ibrahim ratified
Prison sentences handed out by an emergency court to writer and activist Alaa Abd El Fattah, lawyer Mohamed al-Baqer and blogger Mohamed “Oxygen” Ibrahim have been ratified, confirming that the two years for which the defendants were held without trial will not be deducted from their sentences, lawyers told Mada Masr.
3 activists begin hunger strike to protest remand detention, ‘rotation’
Three prominent activists have been on hunger strike since late last week in protest of their prolonged remand detention at Tora Prison Complex, their lawyers told Mada Masr.
Family visiting imprisoned relative discover authorities failed to inform them of his death
When the family of Tamer Fikry Gamal Eddin went on Sunday to visit him at Minya Prison, where he was serving a ten-year sentence, they discovered that he had passed away the previous week. Prison authorities had not informed his family and had sent his body to a hospital without their knowledge, lawyer Ahmed Helmy, who acted on behalf of the family, told Mada Masr.
Rights Defender’s Imprisoned Father At Risk
Egyptian authorities should urgently provide health care to Salah Soltan, the detained father of a prominent Egyptian rights defender living in the US, or immediately release him to receive medical attention and investigate claims of torture, nineteen human rights organizations said today.
A lawyer for imprisoned blogger Mohamed “Oxygen” Ibrahim is looking to file a lawsuit before the State Council to compel the Interior Ministry to allow Ibrahim visitation rights in prison, fearing that his mental health has severely deteriorated after being denied any contact with his family for nearly two years.
Mubarak-era figures with history of corruption banked with Credit Suisse, says new investigation
A new Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project investigation based on a data leak reveals that Credit Suisse held millions of dollars in accounts owned by international figures associated with corruption and human rights abuses, among them several individuals associated with the regime of the late ousted President Hosni Mubarak.
Dozens of state media employees questioned, penalized over ongoing protests
Dozens of state media workers have been subjected to an internal investigation and punitive measures over the past week amid ongoing demonstrations to protest working conditions, low wages and years of overdue bonus payments.
Security forces use tear gas to disperse sit-in at Universal Appliances spurred by worker suicide
Central Security Forces used tear gas to disperse a sit-in staged by thousands of workers at the sixth of October City industrial zone site of the Universal for Electrical Appliances on Tuesday morning.
General Intelligence Service gains permission to establish companies after unanimous vote in House
Egypt’s General Intelligence Service (GIS) is to be granted a sanctioned space in the national economy after lawmakers on Tuesday unanimously approved legislation that was read out to them in session.
Egypt’s Senate gives final approval to new Labour Law
After one month of intensive discussions, the Senate — Egypt’s consultative upper house of parliament — finally approved on Sunday the country’s new government-drafted Labour Law.
The undersigned human rights organizations denounce the Egyptian government’s failure to close Case no. 173 of 2011, commonly known as the “NGO Foreign Funding Case”, which has now been ongoing for over a decade despite the sporadic issuance of decisions to suspend investigations or lift the travel ban on some human rights defenders in the case, the latest being Azza Soliman.
Foreign Policy
The developments leave Egypt on a tightrope as it seeks to manage bilateral relations with Russia and Western countries, according to a government source who spoke to Mada Masr on condition of anonymity. While Russia has a major footprint in Egypt’s trade, security and regional diplomacy arrangements, Egypt is also dependent on economic and political support from Europe and the US.
Egypt, UAE, Saudi Arabia abandon neutrality in UN vote, condemn Russian invasion
Egypt explained its vote in a statement on Wednesday by the country’s permanent representative to the UN, Osama Abdel Khaleq, saying the resolution should not lead to turning a blind eye to the root causes of the crisis and that the main goal should be a rapid political solution.
Arab League urges ‘diplomatic’ resolution to ‘crisis in Ukraine’ without mention of Russia
Following Egypt’s call for the Arab League to convene an emergency session to discuss developments in Ukraine, the league issued a tepid statement urging for a diplomatic resolution to “the crisis in Ukraine” and notably omitting any mention of Russia. Egyptian government sources told Mada Masr that the US has asked Egypt to lend its political support, at least, to Kyiv, placing Egypt in a political bind as it weighs its shared interests with Russia.
G7 ambassadors in Cairo rally behind Ukraine, urge Egypt to condemn Russian offensive
The Ambassadors of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK, US, and EU (G7) in Cairo released on Monday a joint statement in which they condemned the Russian military’s actions in Ukraine and called on Egypt to condemn them at an urgent UN General Assembly meeting scheduled to take place this week.
Egypt's president, Jordan's king exchange views on regional and international issues
Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and Jordan’s King Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein exchanged on Sunday views regarding the latest developments in regional and international issues of common interest.
Egypt is ready for all scenarios regarding GERD: Irrigation Minister
The Egyptian Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources, Mohamed Abdel-Aty announced Saturday, that his country is ready to deal with any scenarios regarding the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).
Egypt continues consultations with international partners ahead of COP27
Egypt held a number of consultative meetings with a host of international partners over the past week concerning the preparations for the next UN Climate Change Conference (COP 27), slated for November in the Egyptian Red Sea city of Sharm El-Sheikh.
Egypt, GCC sign MoU on political consultation
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and Secretary-General of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC) Nayef Falah M. Al-Hajraf signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the political consultation mechanism between Egypt and GCC General Secretariat on Thursday.
Why gas earmarked for Lebanon is not Egyptian
Given the current situation and assuming that Egypt still has surplus gas that it can export to Lebanon to help with the current crisis, the infrastructure for transporting gas must be technically equipped for moving gas outside of Egypt. Under present circumstances, in order to achieve gas exports to Jordan, Egypt would either have to stop importing Israeli gas, modify the Arish station, or construct a new parallel pipeline to transport gas from one of the pipelines in Port Said to Arish, which would then be transferred to the Arab Gas Pipeline.
Economy
As Russia invades Ukraine, conflict has already dealt blow to Egypt’s tourism sector
Egypt’s tourism sector has suffered a blow as a result of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, a setback for the industry that was en route to recovery after the initial impact of the global pandemic.
Egypt’s Suez Canal to increase tolls by 5-10% starting Tuesday
Egypt’s Suez Canal Authority announced an increase of transit dues by five to ten percent for laden and ballast vessels transiting the global waterway, effective starting Tuesday, 1 March 2022, as per growth in global trade and improvements in the canal's transit services.
Work underway to extend two-way segment of Suez Canal: SCA
Work is under way to extend the two-way segment of the Suez Canal by ten kilometres as part of the country’s plan to constantly improve the international waterway, Chairperson of the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) Osama Rabie said on Tuesday.
More than Window-Dressing: On the Credibility of Public Statistics from Al-Sisi’s Egypt
Official Egyptian social and economic data do not provide a reliable picture of the reality of life within the country due to numerous irregularities—nevertheless they are mostly uncritically adopted by external actors.
CAPMAS announces 22.3% increase in bank deposits during 2020/2021
The Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics announced that bank deposit balances in 2020/2021 were 5,731.5 billion Egyptian pounds, an increase of 22.3 percent compared to 2019/2020.
Egypt’s unemployment rate records 7.4% in Q4-2021: CAPMAS
The Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) announced the labor force statistics for the fourth quarter (October-December) of 2021, where the unemployment rate reached 7.4 percent of the total labor force, compared to 7.5 percent in the third quarter of 2021 – a decrease of 0.1 percent from the previous quarter.
Egypt plans sukuk to finance government investment projects
Egypt's government plans to issue sharia-compliant sukuk bonds, as well as more Eurobonds and Green bonds, to fund public projects, the finance ministry said on Monday.
Domestic Security
Egypt's water resources barely cover 50% of country’s needs: Irrigation minister
Egypt’s available resources barely cover 50 percent of the country’s needs for water, Minister of Irrigation Mohamed Abdel-Ati said on Monday at the Urban Water Security for Sustainable Development session at Arab Sustainable Development Week in Cairo.
From Jadaliyya
Eberhard Kienle, Egypt: A Fragile Power (New Texts Out Now)
Seeking to understand why Egypt politically & economically has become what it is today, the volume draws on the historiography of the East Mediterranean; state- & nation-building; & debates on the political economy of the global South.
كتب: الثورة المصرية ونساء يقاومن العنف الجنسي
The book provides insight into women’s experiences during the Egyptian Revolution, and into the methods of resistance these women developed in response to sexual violence
Giedrė Šabasevičiūtė, Sayyid Qutb: An Intellectual Biography (New Texts Out Now)
The book argues that in order to understand Qutb’s life we need to look closely at the years stretching from World War II to the consolidation of Nasser’s rule.
Arabic
تجاوز التاريخ كنموذج لتطوير القاهرة
The article examines how urban development projects has negatively affected the historic value of Cairo.
بيان مشترك: منظمات حقوقية تطالب النيابة العامة بحفظ التحقيق مع ابراهيم عيسى
Egypt's top prosecutor ordered on Saturday an investigation into complaints of "contempt for Islam" filed against TV host Ibrahim Eissa over his comments in which he questioned the journey of Al-Miraj of the Prophet Muhammad. Several organizations condemned the accusation, calling it a violation of the right to freedom of expression.
كيف سترفع الحرب الروسية اﻷوكرانية فاتورة القمح المصرية؟
Mada Masr discusses the impact of the Russia-Ukraine crisis on Egypt’s wheat imports.
الأزمة الأوكرانية: مصر تراهن على عدم الانحياز
The article examines Egypt’s position between preserving its interests and regaining its role as regional leader without alienating any of the conflict parties.
حياة مع إيقاف التنفيذ: نصف عودة إلى قرى الحرب في سيناء
The article describes the return journey of North Sinai residents to their homes five years after evacuation led by the military operation against terrorism.
Quranist blogger Reda Abdel Rahman was released after one and a half year in remand detention, according to the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights.