A complaint has been filed against satirist Bassem Youssef for insulting President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi during a conversation with media personality Khaled Abu Bakr, which the latter then published on his Twitter account.

POLITICS

Parliamentary elections by end of year, says Egypt PM
Egyptian Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab said Monday that parliamentary elections would take place as planned by the end of the year, state news agency MENA reported. In comments to Al-Youm television channel, Mahlab said the cabinet did not intend to delay the elections and that logistical preparations were underway. [Ahram Online, DNE, Aswat Masriya, 9/30/2014]

Also of Interest:
Egypt plunges in African governance index | AFP
Opposition leader: protest law ‘political suicide’ for Sisi | Al-Monitor

COURTS

Egypt courts sentence ninety-one Morsi supporters; Minya death sentence for twenty upheld
Cairo Criminal Court sentenced on Tuesday sixty-three pro-Morsi supporters to fifteen years in prison for charges related to protests on the 40th anniversary of the 6 October war. Five others were sentenced to ten years in prison and a fine of EGP10,000 on the same charges. The defendants were charged with murder, attempted murder, and rioting with the purpose of disrupting the rule of law. Meanwhile, Minya Criminal court sentenced on Tuesday eighteen pro-Morsi supporters in absentia to eighteen years in prison on charges of blocking roads and disrupting the constitutional referendum that took place in January 2014. The court has also ordered that the defendants pay a fine of EGP135,000. The Minya Criminal Court also sentenced five purported Muslim Brotherhood members to fifteen years in prison for violating the nationwide curfew imposed last August. The same court upheld its previous ruling that sentenced twenty members of the Muslim Brotherhood to death for killing Mostafa al-Attar, the Matai village sheriff’s deputy, and for storming and burning the police station after the dispersal of the Raba’a sit-in last year. [DNE, Aswat Masriya, Egypt Independent, Reuters, 9/30/2014]

Beltagy and Hegazy on trial for torture and sexual assault
Cairo Criminal Court is trying Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) leader Mohamed al-Beltagy and Islamist preacher Safwat Hegazy for holding a lawyer captive, and torturing and sexually assaulting him in 2011. Accused alongside Beltagy and Hegazy are former youth minister Osama Yassin, head of the legislative committee of the dissolved parliament Mahmoud al-Khodeiry, Al-Jazeera broadcaster Ahmed Mansour, and three former Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated members of parliament: Mohsen Rady, Amr Zaki and Hazem Farouk. [DNE, 9/30/2014]

Complaint filed against Bassem Youssef for insulting president
A complaint has been filed against satirist Bassem Youssef for insulting President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi during a conversation with media personality Khaled Abu Bakr, which the latter then published on his Twitter account. The complaint, filed with the general prosecutor by lawyer Samir Sabry on Monday, demanded that Youssef be banned from travel until investigations are conducted with him and Abu Bakr. On September 27, Abu Bakr, host of al-Qahera al-Youm, posted on his Twitter account that he and Emad Eddin Hussein ran into Youssef at the airport in New York, where he “insulted Sisi and mocked him, and used indecent language against him.” [Mada Masr, 9/29/2014]

Egypt court bans Islamist Istiqlal Party
The Islamist Istiqlal party has been banned over its participation in the Muslim Brotherhood-led National Alliance to Support Legitimacy (NASL). The Court for Urgent Matters made the ruling on Monday. Party leader Magdy Hussein was arrested in July and remains in detention on charges of joining a terrorist group. The court accused the banned party of “harboring extremist thoughts which harm national security.” It based its judgment on the belief that the party jeopardizes  “national unity, societal peace and democratic system” since the party views the Islamist President Mohamed Morsi’s military ouster on July 3, 2013 as a “coup” and not “an implementation of people’s desire.” The Independence Current welcomed the court’s decision. [Ahram Online, Aswat Masriya, Egypt Independent, 9/30/2014]

Also of Interest:
Twenty-one Morsi supporters released on bail in Aswan | Ahram Online
Verdict in trial banning religious parties from parliamentary elections on October 1 | EGYNews (Arabic)

ECONOMY

Egypt aims to pay $2-3 billion of debt to oil firms by end-2014
Egypt aims to pay back $2-$3 billion it owes to oil and gas companies by the end of the year, Oil Minister Sherif Ismail told a news conference in Cairo, as the government tries to spur new investment to boost supplies. Debt owed to energy companies in Egypt totaled $5.9 billion in May, the latest official figure available. [Reuters, 9/30/2014]

Also of Interest:
Egypt’s top refinery hopes expansion will revive exports | Reuters
Egypt’s Sidi Kerir aims to boost revenues by 18 percent in 2.5 years | Reuters
Government relying on economic reform to improve Egyptians’ lives: Finance minister | DNE
Egypt aims to boost electronics industry to EGP70 billion by 2020 | Egypt Independent
Mahlab reviews plans for the February economic summit | Ahram Gateway (Arabic)
Golden Triangle plan to create 480,000 job opportunities | AMAY (Arabic)

SOCIETY & MEDIA

Political groups banned from Al-Azhar campus
Groups affiliated with political parties have been banned at Al-Azhar University, its deputy head Tawfiq Nooreddin said during a phone interview with Sada al-Balad satellite channel. He added that he is confident this academic year will be peaceful after last year’s frequent turmoil, saying, “Al-Azhar University has taken all the necessary measurements to ensure security.” [Ahram Online, 9/30/2014]

Also of Interest:
Egypt ministries to use energy efficient cars and appliances | Ahram Online
Amnesty International warns of photojournalist’s ongoing detention | DNE
Rights groups exhort government to combat sexual violence Mada Masr

SECURITY

Weapons imports to be approved by defense minister under amended law
President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi issued a decree on Tuesday to amend two articles of the artillery law, necessitating the defense minister’s prior consent to any arms import deals.  Under the amended law, imports of firearms should be approved by the defense ministry, and that the defense ministry decides the amount of weaponry allowed for import. The old version of the article stated that the interior minister’s permission is needed before the import, trade, production or repair of weapons listed in the first article of the same law. [SIS, Aswat Masriya, EGYNews (Arabic), 9/30/2014]

INTERNATIONAL

Russia, Egypt to discuss MiG-35 fighter jets deal in October
Russia plans to hold talks in Egypt next month over the latter’s planned purchase of MiG-35 fighter jets, reported Russian news agency ITAR-TASS on Monday. “They [Egyptian representatives] visited our corporation. We hope that we will be invited to technical talks next month,” Director-General of Russia’s Aircraft Corporation MiG Sergei Korotkov said. The deal, which is reportedly worth EGP21 billion ($3 billion), was reported in February. [Ahram Online, Aswat Masriya (Arabic), Ahram Gateway (Arabic), 9/29/2014]

Also of Interest:
Libyan militia detains Egyptian truck drivers in Ajdabiya | Ahram Online
Shoukry discusses Gaza ceasefire and reconstruction with top OCHA official | DNE