In a speech marking the first anniversary of the June 30 mass protests that put an end to the rule of former president Mohamed Morsi, president Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi said that on that day, Egypt protected the Arab region and Islam from a destructive plot.

POLITICS

In June 30 speech, Sisi says Egypt protected Islam from extremism
In a speech marking the first anniversary of the June 30 mass protests that put an end to the rule of former president Mohamed Morsi, president Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi said that on that day, Egypt protected the Arab region and Islam from a destructive plot. “History will [tell] that Egypt protected Arabism and preserved Islam against what was being plotted against Arab nations, the unity of its people and attempts to defame Islam by linking it to violence and terrorism,” Sisi said on Monday, vowing to protect Islam from extremists. “We will develop the religious discourse, not because it is backwards, but to purify it from negative associations,” he continued. June 30 was proof of Egyptians’ ability to unite, he said, proclaiming that the mass protests “brought the dreams and aspirations of Egyptians back to life.”  Sisi also promised to retaliate for the two police officers who were killed while trying to defuse makeshift bombs planted near the presidential palace in Cairo on Monday. [Ahram Online, Aswat Masriya, 7/1/2014]

Brotherhood must face reality: Nour Party leader
The Salafist Nour Party has condemned protests planned by the Muslim Brotherhood for July 3, the one year anniversary of the ouster of former president Mohamed Morsi. Nour Party Chief Youness Makhyoun has said that the protests will yield nothing but losses and more violence and killing. He called on the Muslim Brotherhood to recognize the reality, indicating to international and local recognition of the status quo in Egypt. [Ahram Online, Egypt Independent, 7/1/2014]

Also of Interest:

  • Tamarod: Political force or revolutionary dream? | Ahram Online, Mada Masr
  • Egyptian armed forces appoint new spokesperson | Ahram Online, Aswat Masriya (Arabic)
  • Sources: Supreme Committee for Parliamentary Elections receives requests to campaign in August and vote in October | Shorouk (Arabic)
  • Mahlab: Government agencies will provide services to families of martyrs of the revolution | AMAY (Arabic)

COURTS

Egypt’s richest man sentenced to three years in jail on tax evasion: ETA
Egypt’s wealthiest man, Nassef Sawiris, has been sentenced in absentia to three years in prison and fines worth EGP 50 million on charges of refraining from paying due checks to Egypt’s Tax Authority (ETA), sources at the authority told Ahram Online. Sawiris, aged 53, runs Orascom Construction Industries (OCI), the Egyptian subsidiary of Dutch company OCI NV. Sawiris remains Egypt’s richest person with a net worth of $6.7 billion, according to the 2014 Forbes list. [Ahram Online, 7/1/2014]

UN: Minya death sentences ‘a staggering violation of international human rights’
United Nations (UN) human rights experts condemned in a statement on Monday the recent confirmation of 183 death sentences related to August 2013 violence in Minya, calling the sentences “a staggering violation of international human rights.” The group of experts also urged the Egyptian government to offer a retrial to the condemned defendants. “We are deeply concerned that the courts have become instrumental in the arbitrary and politically motivated prosecutions by the State, which may also be discriminatory against people on the basis of religion or belief,” the experts said. The experts are all part of the UN Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council and include the Special Rapporteur on torture, the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association, and the Special Rapporteur on promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence. [DNE, 7/1/2014]

Also of Interest:

  • Prosecution releases official arrested while taking bribe | Egypt Independent
  • Six month sentence for sexual harasser in Minya | Aswat Masriya
  • Court amends decision to postpone trial of Beltagy, others | Shorouk (Arabic), AMAY (Arabic)
  • Defense in harassment cases says charges were fabricated to embarrass security services | AMAY (Arabic)

ECONOMY

Egypt prepares for EGP 44 billion fuel subsidy cuts in new fiscal year
No time has been set to hike Egypt’s fuel prices, the finance minister announced yesterday in an effort to appease the public while revealing a budget containing large subsidy cuts. The ratified budget features a EGP 44 billion cut in the planned subsidy bill to record EGP 100.2 billion in the new fiscal year set to start on today. [Ahram Online, 6/30/2014]

Also of Interest:

  • Egypt urges people to donate to help ailing economy | Aswat Masriya, AMAY (Arabic)
  • Egypt’s tourism development authority hits historical revenues | Ahram Online
  • Bourse rises 1.13 percent following budget approval | DNE, SIS
  • EGAS halts pumping of gas to several fertilizer companies, methanol factory | DNE
  • IBM and ITIDA technology cooperation launched | DNE
  • Repression, poor laws deter investment in Egypt – tycoon Samih Sawiris | Reuters
  • New budget to benefit poor, lower-income brackets | SIS
  • 2014/15 budget goes into effect, but still no details on its provisions | Mada Masr

SOCIETY & MEDIA

Most June 30 leaders did not celebrate first anniversary
Many of the prominent revolutionary forces who called for the June 30 protests which led to Mohamed Morsi’s ouster last year say they’re not celebrating the event’s first anniversary. Tamarod said on Monday that it hasn’t called for a 30 June celebration. Instead, it stressed that work is the most important thing to help Egypt out of its current phase. The Egyptian Social Democratic Party (ESDP) said in a statement on Monday that it’s abstaining from celebrations due to the recent imprisonment of many revolutionary figures. The Egyptian Popular Current was also among those choosing not to celebrate due to “a deliberate suppression of freedom of expression through the detaining of activists under the protest law.” On the other hand, the Free Egyptians Party and Socialist Popular Alliance Party were among those who announced they would gather in front of the Ittihadiya Presidential Palace on Monday evening to commemorate the day. [Ahram Online, 6/30/2014]

Also of Interest:

  • Female prisoners in Egypt suffer rampant abuse | Al Monitor
  • State to relocate vendors from downtown Cairo | DNE
  • Young political cartoonists use symbols to fight ‘red lines’ | DNE
  • Cairo University donates EGP 20 million to Sisi initiative | Aswat Masriya (Arabic)

SECURITY

Aswat Masriya: Three Islamist party leaders arrested for Ittihadiya bombing
A statement by the National Alliance to Support Legitimacy (NASL) said on Tuesday that security forces arrested three leaders of Islamist political parties. They said security forces arrested Nasr Abdel-Salam, acting head of the Building and Development Party, Magdy Hussein, head of the Istiqlal Party and Hossam Khalaf of the Wasat Party. The NASL issued a statement condemning the arrests and calling for mass protests on 3 July to break what they described as a military coup that removed the Islamist president from power. According to Aswat Masriya, the arrests come in direct response to the Ittihadiya bombings on Monday that left two police officers dead. Militant group Ajnad Misr has, however, already claimed responsibility for the blasts. Meanwhile, the April 6 Youth Movement held the minister of interior responsible for the attacks, and its calls for his removal. Major General Abdel Fattah Osman, the interior minister’s assistant for information and relations, said the minister has referred the bombing incident to the Inspection and Supervision Department of the ministry. [Ahram Online, 7/1/2014]

Christian kidnapped in Sinai
A group of armed masked men in Sinai kidnapped at gunpoint a Christian engineer who works at a cement factory in the Peninsula on Monday, reported state-run Al-Ahram. According to North Sinai Christian activist Abanoub Riyad, “the identity of the kidnappers is still unknown.” Riyad added that reasons for the abduction are still unclear. The Ministry of Interior’s officials in Sinai were not available for comment. The incident is the third of its kind to happen to Christians in Sinai over the past month. [DNE, 7/1/2014]

Also of Interest:

  • Security officials attend reconciliation ceremony of Daboud, Beni Helal tribes | Egypt Independent
  • Interior Minister says Ittihadiya blast will make police more determined | Egypt Independent, Shorouk (Arabic)
  • Sisi meets with ministry of interior officials to address security challenges | EGYNews (Arabic), AMAY (Arabic), Aswat Masriya (Arabic)
  • Border guards arrest smugglers in Sinai | EGYNews (Arabic)
  • Police seize smuggled gasoline and diesel | EGYNews (Arabic)
  • Governor of South Sinai: I will not allow the area to become a center of terrorism | Shorouk (Arabic)

INTERNATIONAL

Egypt is ready to play political role in Iraq, says foreign ministry
Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said Egypt is willing to do its utmost to communicate with parties in Iraq to contain the crisis and preserve the country’s unity. In a press conference on Sunday, Shoukry was cited by state-run MENA as saying that Egypt is always ready to play a political role in events in Iraq. [DNE, 6/30/2014]

Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and UAE pardon 152 Egyptian prisoners
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait have pardoned 152 Egyptians prisoners on the occasion of Ramadan, the Muslim fasting month, a foreign ministry official told state news agency MENA. An aide to the Egyptian foreign minister, Ali al-Ashri, said the decision comes amid “special bilateral relations” between Egypt and these countries. Ashri said the pardons ranged from full release to lightened sentences for 21 in Saudi Arabia, 83 in Kuwait and 48 in the UAE. [Ahram Online, 7/1/2014]

Also of Interest:

  • Israeli police arrest hundreds of African refugees on Israeli-Egyptian border | DNE, AP
  • Egypt and Italy agree to swap $45 million in debt for food silos | Ahram Online, EGYNews (Arabic)
  • Egypt Irrigation Minister to visit Sudan | Egypt Independent
  • Egyptian-Sudanese talks to coordinate stances over Renaissance Dam crisis | SIS
  • Zaazou, German ambassador confer on restoring tourism flow to Egypt | SIS, Shorouk (Arabic)
  • Arab League chief condemns Ittihadiya terror incident | SIS
  • Foreign ministry announces launch of Egyptian partnership for development | AMAY (Arabic)