Egypt’s Sayyida Zeinab prosecution questioned Wednesday seven high school students who were among protesters who gathered Tuesday in front of the ministry of education’s headquarters.
POLITICS
Egypt parties begin preparations for parliamentary elections
In a statement to Ahram Gateway, a member of the Nour Party’s supreme body said that the party is preparing lists of its candidates for Egypt’s upcoming parliamentary elections. The party held several workshops to determine its list of candidates. Meanwhile, Khaled Dawoud, a spokesman for the Constitution Party, said that the party had not joined any of the electoral alliances that are being formed in preparation for the elections. Mohamed Anwar Esmat Sadat, head of the Reform and Development Party, demanded that the Supreme Committee for Parliamentary Elections quickly pass a law on the division of parliamentary constituencies. In addition, a student delegation from the Coalition of Youth Revolution called on former Secretary General of the Arab League, Amr Moussa, to run in the upcoming parliamentary elections. [Aswat Masriya (Arabic), 7/2/2014]
Also of Interest:
- Assiut Governor: expansion of administrative boundaries provides advantages | EGYNews (Arabic)
- ESDP calls on lawmakers to strike down Protest Law | DNE
COURTS
High school students charged with violating protest law
Egypt’s Sayyida Zeinab prosecution questioned Wednesday seven high school students who were among protesters who gathered Tuesday in front of the ministry of education’s headquarters. The secondary high school students protested in front of the ministry decrying what they described as an “unfair” education system, calling for the removal of the minister of education. Security forces intensified their presence ahead of the protest and then clashed with the students when they tried to break into the ministry. At least twenty-two students were arrested, among them 15 male students and seven female students. Mostafa Ismail, one of the coordinators of Educate Us Well movement said, “The students took part without having intentions to cause damages at the place or the ministry building. Our goal was noble. We sought reforming the education system.” The prosecution charged the students with violating the protest law, attacking police personnel by throwing rocks at them, injuring two police conscripts, sabotaging a police vehicle, and blocking traffic. [Ahram Online, Egypt Independent, Shorouk (Arabic), 7/2/2014]
Morsi’s son sentenced to one year for drug possession
A Banha court sentenced in absentia Abdallah Morsi, the son of Egypt’s ousted President Mohamed Morsi, and his friend to one year in prison with labor on Wednesday, fining them EGP 10,000 each, for drug possession. The defendants have the right to appeal the verdict before the Cassation Court. [Aswat Masriya, 7/2/2014]
Also of Interest:
- Six Brotherhood supporters sentenced to three years prison over rioting | Egypt Independent
- Nassef Sawiris imprisonment verdict suspended on appeal | Ahram Online, DNE
- Nasr City cell trial postponed to July 12 | Egypt Independent
- Tahrir Square assault trial postponed to July 6 | Egypt Independent, Shorouk (Arabic)
- Trial of Zawahiri and 67 other suspected terrorists postponed | EGYNews (Arabic), Shorouk (Arabic), AMAY (Arabic)
- Trial of Ahmed Ezz and Amr Assal postponed | AMAY (Arabic)
- 182 Brotherhood defendants referred to criminal court | AMAY (Arabic), Aswat Masriya (Arabic)
- Four arrested for suspected involvement in federal bombings | Aswat Masriya (Arabic)
ECONOMY
Egypt imposes 10 percent tax on capital gains, dividends
Egypt’s president approved a law on Tuesday imposing a new 10 percent tax on capital gains and stock dividends, as the country seeks to revive an economy battered by more than three years of political turmoil. The government increased the expected amount of tax revenues to be collected during the 2014/2015 fiscal year to EGP 364 billion compared to EGP 358 billion last year, representing a 1.6 percent increase according to Finance Minister Hany Kadry Dimian. [Reuters, Ahram Online, DNE, SIS, 7/1/2014]
Egypt eyes up to 5.8 percent growth, 10 percent budget gap in three years
Egypt is targeting economic growth of between 4-5.8 percent within the next three years while holding the budget deficit at 10 percent of economic output, according to Finance Minister Hany Kadry Dimian. [Reuters, 7/2/2014]
Also of Interest:
- Rise in fuel prices sparks anger in Minya | Shorouk (Arabic)
- Gulf nations’ sway rises in Egypt | WSJ
- Egyptian cement producers face energy cuts | OBG
- Exporters: Reducing subsidies a blow to exports | Egypt Independent
- Egypt unlikely to succeed in price control efforts | DNE
- Egypt: Commencement of economic reform | SIS
- Bank account for Egypt will benefit youth: Presidency | Ahram Online
- Fuel subsidy bill for 2014/2015 to exceed budget: Former EGPC VP | DNE
- Finance ministry considers modifying system for cabinet wages: Minister | DNE
- Egyptian pound stable on official and black market | Reuters
SOCIETY & MEDIA
Government official denies prison torture claims, says jails are “like hotels”
Allegations of torture and sexual assault inside Egyptian prisons have been dismissed as “fabrications” by an aide to the interior minister. Widespread claims of physical assault and rape “have nothing to do with reality or logic,” Abdel-Fattah Osman, head of the ministry’s public relations and media department, told ONTV satellite channel. Egyptian jails have become “like hotels,” he added. Othman accused some imprisoned activists of leaking false news over rape or torture of prisoners. “News over torture and rape never came up until some political activists were imprisoned,” he said, adding that all cases are being investigated. [Ahram Online, Egypt Independent, Aswat Masriya (Arabic), 7/2/2014]
Bassem Youssef: Fear being used as a tool in Egypt
In his speech on Monday at the opening of the Global Media Forum in the German capital Berlin, organized by Deutsche Welle, Bassem Youssef relayed his concerns for the future of Egypt under the military-led regime of newly-elected President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. “Fear is a most powerful tool. It could push people to give up their best; their being human,” he said. “Fear can take you away, but it cannot prevail. And nations cannot be built on fear.” On government attempts to disrupt his endeavor, Youssef said he was told by officials that they like him but that it is not the right time for him. “Tell me when my right time comes,” he told them. [Egypt Independent, 7/1/2014]
Also of Interest:
- Adly Mansour statue defaced, Mubarak lookalike statue built | Mada Masr
- Leaked video of Beltagy: We made a mistake by trusting the wrong people | AMAY (Arabic), Aswat Masriya (Arabic)
- Egypt won’t cure you | Al Monitor
- Nineteen medical facilities shut down for legal violations | AMAY (Arabic)
- Mahlab meets with editors of Egyptian newspapers | Ahram Gateway (Arabic)
- Journalist union holds emergency meeting | Aswat Masriya (Arabic)
- Mahlab meets with National Council of Care for Families of the Revolution’s Martyrs and Injured | SIS
SECURITY
Prosecution claims men disguised as garbage collectors planted Ittihadiya explosives
A source in the Heliopolis prosecution office said retrieved surveillance footage shows four individuals disguised as garbage collectors planting the explosive devices that went off in the vicinity of the Ittihadiya Presidential palace on Monday, Aswat Masriya reported. The source added that footage obtained from the palace’s surveillance cameras and nearby shops showed four assailants planting the devices between Fajr prayers and 6 am in the garden at the intersection of Ahram and Merghany Streets. Investigations have also revealed that the explosives were placed in ghee packs and connected to a cell phone and a battery. Intense security measures are still in place at Cairo Airport, with limited access to the arrival and departure halls. Political parties, among them the Nour Party and the Muslim Brotherhood, continue to condemn the bombings, and call on security forces to prevent such incidents from occurring. [Mada Masr, 7/2/2014]
Also of Interest:
- Minister of interior inspects streets of Cairo and security | EGYNews (Arabic), Shorouk (Arabic)
- Ittihadiya bombing victim’s family: The Interior Ministry did not honor him | Egypt Independent
- Governor of Cairo will visit victims of bombings | AMAY (Arabic)
INTERNATIONAL
Ethiopian Dam tripartite committee to meet soon in Cairo
A tripartite committee is to meet soon in Cairo to resume negotiations over Ethiopia’s Grand Renaissance Dam, state news agency MENA reported on Tuesday. Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi and Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn announced last week after their meeting in Equatorial Guinea that the committee will resume work after it was halted last December. Egypt’s Water and Irrigation Minister Hossam al-Din Moghazy discussed the Ethiopian dam and the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) with his Sudanese counterpart Moataz Moussa on his first trip abroad since his appointment as minister. Moghazy said he invited Moussa and Ethiopian Irrigation Minister Alamayo Tegno to Egypt for more talks over the issue. [DNE, Ahram Gateway (Arabic), 7/2/2014]
Egypt calls on Israel to exercise self-restraint toward Palestinians
The ministry of foreign affairs called upon Israel to practice restraint, and to abstain from policies of collective punishment towards Palestinians following Israel’s Tuesday attack on Gaza. The statement comes after Israel bombed dozens of sites in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, wounding two Palestinians, a day after finding the dead bodies of three Israeli teenagers, missing since June 12, in the occupied West Bank. The foreign ministry also asked Israel to give the Palestinian authorities the space to track down those responsible and bring them to justice. “Egypt condemns all violence that results in the killing of civilians from both sides,” said a foreign ministry statement Tuesday. [DNE, Aswat Masriya, Mada Masr, 7/2/2014]
Also of Interest:
- Sisi receives phone call from Jordanian King | SIS
- Mahlab, Bahrain ambassador discuss bilateral relations | SIS
- FM, American International School sign memo on joint cooperation | SIS, Ahram Gateway (Arabic)
- Relations with India emphasized, ban on exports of citrus fruit lifted | EGYNews (Arabic)
- Nour Party leader calls on Arab governments to stop Israeli aggression | Shorouk (Arabic), Ahram Gateway (Arabic)
- Sisi congratulates US on Independence day | AMAY (Arabic)