Top News: Police Allowed to Deport Gay Foreigners, Rules Egypt Court

Egypt’s Administrative Court issued a ruling on Tuesday allowing the Interior Ministry to deport homosexual foreigners and deny them entry into the country. The decision follows a court ruling which upheld an interior ministry decision to ban a Libyan student accused of being a homosexual from entering the country. 

POLITICS

Proposed amendments to Egypt electoral law see number of MPs increased
Egypt’s cabinet is expected Wednesday to discuss new amendments to two election laws aimed at paving the way for Egypt’s long-delayed parliamentary elections. The two laws are on the workings of the House of Representatives and the Division of Electoral Constituencies. The government-appointed panel tasked with amending the laws added twenty-two seats for independent candidates, for a total of 442 seats. This raises the number of seats in Egypt’s coming parliament from 567 to a total 589. The division of this new figure goes as follows: 442 to independents, 120 to party candidates, and twenty-seven to presidential appointees. Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Transitional Justice Ibrahim al-Heneidy said the cabinet’s discussion Wednesday will come after the panel has finalized amendments of the two legislations in a meeting Tuesday. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab submitted the final draft of the amended election law to President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi to review it before the cabinet convenes on Wednesday for his approval. [Ahram Online, Egypt Independent, 4/15/2015]

Also of Interest

  • Egypt’s president signs pledge to protect the river Nile | Ahram Online, SIS

COURTS

Police allowed to deport gay foreigners, rules Egypt court
Egypt’s Administrative Court issued a ruling on Tuesday allowing the Interior Ministry to deport homosexual foreigners and deny them entry into the country. The decision follows a court ruling which upheld an interior ministry decision to ban a Libyan student accused of being a homosexual from entering the country. The student, who was not named, was barred from returning to Cairo from abroad in 2008 and had appealed the decision hoping to continue his studies at the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport. A judicial official says the ministry has the right to issue bans in such cases on grounds of protecting public interest, religious and social values. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to reporters. [Ahram Online, Aswat Masriya, AP, Mada Masr, 4/14/2015]

Court orders release of Morsi’s former secretary, convicts former aide
Cairo Criminal Court, headed by Judge Hassan Farid, ordered on Wednesday the release of former President Mohamed Morsi’s secretary, Amin Abdel Hamid al-Serafy, on bail. Serafy is accused of joining the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group. The court ordered the release of seven other detainees facing the same charges, including Ashraf al-Naggar, Mohamed Abdel Qader, Abdel Nasser Elian, Mohamed Haitham, Nasser Abdel Wahab, Abdel Hamid Saad Eddin, and Magdy Fouda. The same court on Wednesday one of Morsi’s aides to three years in prison for appointing a convicted man at the presidency during Morsi’s tenure. Rifaa al-Tahtawi, Morsi’s chief of staff, was also ordered to pay a fine worth 36,052 Egyptian pounds for “forging documents” and appointing a convict. The convicted man, al-Sayed Rifai was also sentenced to a year in prison and fined an equal amount of money. Rifai is a convicted “terrorist,” the prosecution had said in a statement, having served fifteen years in prison for crimes which include joining a “terrorist” organization, torching, vandalising, possessing arms and attacking citizens, among other charges. [Egypt Independent, Aswat Masriya, 4/15/2015]

Zamalek fans referred to state security prosecution over ‘joining terrorist entity’
Five football fans of Zamalek SC were to undertake fifteen days pre-trial detention by state security prosecution, accused of joining a “terrorist entity.” Sayed Ali, Seif Kamel, Mahmoud al-Domiati, Abdallah Ghoneim and AnasTawfik will stand again before the prosecution for investigations on April 24. They are accused of attempting to topple the regime and joining a terrorist entity, according to friends. A friend of Domiati, who preferred to speak anonymously, told Daily News Egypt that his friend was taken from his house six days ago, before appearing before prosecution. [DNE, 4/14/2015]

Also of Interest

  • Syndicate panel to monitor detention conditions of reporters standing trial | Egypt Independent

ECONOMY

IMF upgrades outlook for Egypt’s economic growth to 4 percent in 2015
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has increased its forecast for Egypt’s economic growth in 2015 to 4 percent, from 3.8 percent in its previous assessment. The fund forecasts Egypt’s economy to grow by 4.3 percent in 2016, noting that lower oil prices will reduce Egypt’s vulnerabilities as a main oil importer in the Middle East. The IMF cited Moody’s Investors Service’s recent decision to upgrade Egypt’s credit rating as signs of improvement in Egypt’s growth. [Cairo Post, 4/15/2015]

Also of Interest

  • Power cut caused by pylon bombs cost Egyptian media complex EGP 1.2 million | Ahram Online
  • Egypt’s government starts annual purchase of local wheat | Ahram Online
  • NASDAQ Dubai seeks further dual listings for Egyptian companies | DNE
  • EGP 425 million of new budget goes to slums says Housing Minister | DNE
  • Rail fare increases always considered says Railway Authority Head | DNE
  • Higher budget deficit might force Egypt to introduce more austerity measures | Egypt Independent
  • Kuwait deposits $2 billion in Egypt Central Bank | Anadolu Agency
  • Egyptian businessmen plan joint investments with Chinese counterparts | Egypt Independent

SOCIETY & MEDIA

Social Solidarity Ministry to compensate Sinai victims
Minister of Social Solidarity Ghada Wali announced Monday the formation of a working group responsible for recording the losses of houses near the al-Arish police station explosion. The ministry’s preliminary investigations reported that the restoration of houses will cost between EGP 5,000 ($655) and EGP 25,000 ($3275). A report regarding the losses is also being prepared for the ministry to deliver assistance to the families who were harmed by the incident. Wali previously announced the allocation of EGP 10,000 ($1310) to each family of the explosion’s martyrs, as well as the formation of a committee to identify the losses incurred in the station’s vicinity. [DNE, 4/14/2015]

Endowments Minister urges state bodies to expel Brotherhood sympathizers
Egypt’s Endowments Minister called upon state institutions to purge themselves of Muslim Brotherhood sympathizers, stressing that the ministry has managed to filter its employees and mosques under its management to that end. Mohamed Mokhtar Gomaa said he has information that there are schools run by the Brotherhood that teach “special religious syllabi.” The endowments ministry has banned mosque preachers from delivering sermons except for those who have a license as part of a broader government strategy to crackdown on Muslim Brotherhood. [Egypt Independent, 4/15/2015]

Also of Interest

SECURITY

Bomb kills at least two military students, injures 6 civilians in Egypt’s Delta
A bomb killed at least two military students at the Egyptian military academy, and injured six other civilians in Egypt’s Delta city Kafr al-Sheikh on Wednesday. The bomb exploded as students waited at a soccer stadium for a school bus to transport them back to Cairo. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Wednesday’s attack. [Ahram Online, Reuters, AP, Aswat Masriya, 4/15/2015]

Also of Interest

  • Head of al-Arish police station shot in Egypt’s North Sinai | Ahram Online, DNE, Aswat Masriya
  • Two policemen injured in Sharqiya raid | Egypt Independent
  • 174 killed, over 600 injured in first quarter of 2015 | DNE
  • Sinai Bedouin threatens escalation against the army  | Egypt Independent
  • Security sources say Al-Tawhid Wal Jihad involved in al-Arish police station bombing | Egypt Independent
  • ‘Revolutionary Punishment’ movement claims responsibility for Media Production City explosion | Egypt Independent
  • Who attacked Media Production City and why? | Mada Masr
  • Brotherhood member arrested over storming checkpoint in Sharqiya | EGYNews (Arabic)
  • Twenty-one alleged Brotherhood and Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis members arrested | EGYNews (Arabic)
  • Electricity ministry says over 778 attacks targeted its infrastructure | Shorouk (Arabic)

INTERNATIONAL

Egypt, Saudi mull military exercise amid Yemen airstrikes
Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi agreed with Saudi Defense Minister Prince Mohamed bin Salman to form a joint military committee to look into carrying out a strategic maneuver with other Gulf countries. Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi met with the Saudi Defense Minister on Tuesday in Cairo to discuss the latest Arab airstrikes, led by Saudi Arabia, on Houthi rebels in Yemen. Sisi said his country “would always help its brothers and defend Arab rights,” according to the statement, adding that “security of the Gulf is a red line for Egypt and an integral part of its national security.” The upcoming maneuver is expected to take place on Saudi territory. [Ahram Online, Reuters, AP, Aswat Masriya, 4/15/2015]

Also of Interest

  • Turkey condemns terrorist attacks in Egypt | Ahram Online, DNE
  • France slams terrorist attacks in North Sinai | SIS
  • OIC chief condemns terrorist attacks in Sinai | SIS
  • Yemenis in Egypt struggle to return home | DNE
  • Shoukry meets EU foreign ministers in Spain | DNE
  • Prime Minister strips Hamas officer of Egyptian citizenship | Egypt Independent
  • New UN site for flights in conflict zones issues warnings on Libya, Egypt | Reuters
  • Fishermen warned against approaching Yemen coastline | Egypt Independent
  • Egyptian lady rescued by Indian navy in Yemen recounts suffering | Egypt Independent