Top News: US Clears Egypt for Military Assistance

The Obama administration said Tuesday it has certified that Egypt is upholding its 35-year-old peace treaty with Israel and therefore qualifies for some military and counterterrorism assistance. Secretary of State John Kerry informed Egypt’s foreign minister, Nabil Fahmy, of the decision in a telephone call, crediting the Egyptian government with sustaining its strategic relationship with the United States and fulfilling its obligations to Israel, according to State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki.
POLITICS

Egypt issues law barring challenges to state deals
Egypt’s interim President Adly Mansour on Tuesday approved a law that would restrict the right to challenge state business and real estate deals to only the government, its involved institutes and business partners, a presidency statement said. The law, long-waited by businessmen and investors, is meant, according to the presidential statement to boost business in Egypt. Since the 2011 revolt, Egyptian courts have issued at least eleven rulings ordering the state to reverse deals signed by former administrations. The lawsuits were mostly brought by activists and lawyers who allege that companies were sold off too cheaply in deals that were representative of corrupt business practices. [Reuters, 4/22/2014]

Decision to refer Presidential Elections Law to SCC due April 29
The Administrative Court of the State Council will make a ruling in a lawsuit challenging the constitutional validity of the Presidential Elections Law on April 29. The court could decide to refer the law to the Supreme Constitutional Court (SCC) for review, according to state owned Al-Ahram. The main grievance in the lawsuit, submitted by three lawyers, is the judicial immunity granted to the decisions made by the Presidential Elections Committee (PEC). [DNE, 4/22/2014]

Also of Interest:

  • Egyptian president commemorates Sinai liberation | Ahram Online
  • Sisi mourning martyrs from interior ministry | EGYNews
  • Media minister forming committee to follow-up on media propaganda in presidential elections | Shorouk (Arabic)

COURTS

Court sentences Minya’s governor to prison
On Wednesday, Minya Misdemeanor Court ordered the sentencing of Minya’s governor, Major General Salah Eddin Zeyada, to six months in prison and fined him EGP 1,000 to temporarily suspend the sentence. The court also ordered his dismissal from his post because he failed to carry out a court ruling that ordered the division of 19,000-square-meter area, owned by Samuel Thabet Zaki. Wednesday’s ruling also ordered the governor to pay EGP 10,001 as temporary compensation for the plaintiff and EGP 50 for lawyer fees. The landowner had filed a lawsuit accusing the governor of refraining from executing a court ruling that ordered the division of the land. [Egypt Independent, 4/23/2014]

Trial of Al-Jazeera journalists adjourned to May 3
The Cairo Criminal Court adjourned the Al Jazeera trial to May 3, denying another request for bail on Tuesday. The defendants include Egyptian-Canadian chief of Al Jazeera English Mohamed Fadel Fahmy, and his colleagues ​Peter Greste and Baher Mohamed, as well as five students. In Tuesday’s session the court reviewed evidence presented by the prosecution, including videos of interviews conducted by the journalists with subjects linked to the Muslim Brotherhood, including the group’s leader Essam al-Erian and spokesperson for Students Against the Coup movement Yussef Salhen. [Ahram Online, Egypt Independent, Mada Masr, 4/22/2014]

Also of Interest:

  • Dahshour train trial adjourned to April 30 | Shorouk (Arabic)

ECONOMY

Billions needed to upgrade Egypt’s power grid as summer crunch looms
Egypt needs to find at least $5 billion to invest in its dilapidated power grid, a government official told Reuters, highlighting a major challenge for the next president as the country faces the risk of worsening blackouts this summer. While gas shortages have been blamed for the crisis, senior electricity ministry official Sabah Mohamed Mashaly said modernizing the grid should be a priority. She said additional power capacity was needed to fill sudden production falls caused by accidents and maintenance work at Egypt’s 51, mainly gas-fired, power stations, of which about a quarter are more than 20 years old. [Reuters, Aswat Masriya (Arabic), 4/23/2014]

Also of Interest:

  • Egypt to pay some $1 billion owed to oil firms within two months – minister | Aswat Masriya
  • Saving power in the face of electricity cuts | Mada Masr
  • Treasury presents 6 million EGP | EGYNews
  • Egypt has faced $14 billion worth of cases from investors since 2011: Judge | Ahram Online

SOCIETY & MEDIA

Incarcerated 6 April leader calls for international review of protest law conviction
Cofounder of the April 6 Youth Movement Mohamed Adel filed an official request from prison Saturday that the cassation session for his three year sentence for breaking the protest law be reviewed by an international court. A leading member of April 6 said that Adel’s demand was a “satirical response” to interim president Adly Mansour’s statement that the law is in line with international standards and is applied in a number of European countries. Defense lawyer Amr Imam said, if needed, the team intends to take the case to international courts after all steps in Egyptian courts of all levels are completed. [DNE, 4/22/2014]

Authorities prepare to shut down fifty-six unlicensed satellite channels
After having arrested the operator of the Feloul Satellite Channel on Monday; Egyptian authorities are preparing to shut the channel down, along with fifty-five others. Those under the spotlight are reported to include music and entertainment channels, along with some religious channels, all of which are said to be unlicensed in Egypt. On Tuesday, Brigadier General Mohie Salama — Chief of the Artistic Works Department at the Giza Security Directorate — told Al-Arabiya that a total of fifty-six satellite channels would be shut down as they lacked authorization to broadcast in Egypt. [Mada Masr, 4/22/2014]

Also of Interest:

  • Zewail University open to fresh applicants despite campus crisis | Ahram Online
  • Egyptian striking doctors call on health minister to resign | Ahram Online
  • Student and five others arrested on charges of weapons possession and and targeting police stations | AMAY (Arabic)
  • State gives syndicate 100 bulletproof vests and helmets for journalists | Mada Masr
  • Public figures demand release of two activists | Mada Masr

SECURITY

Two policemen, militant killed in Egypt
An Egyptian police officer and a militant were killed during a security operation near Alexandria on Wednesday, and another senior officer died after a bomb blew up his car near Cairo, the Interior Ministry said. The Interior Ministry said militants had opened fire on security forces as they arrived at their hideout in Borg al Arab, some 45 km (28 miles) southwest of Alexandria during an operation to “detain a number of terrorist elements.” The police officer killed in the raid was named as First Lieutenant Ahmed Saad and the dead militant as Hassan Abdel Aal, a 25-year old from the Nile Delta province of Dakahlia. A second militant was arrested, it said. In related news a small IED outside a supermarket in Giza detonated injuring two people. [Ahram Online, Reuters, Aswat Masriya, AP, Egypt Independent, Mada Masr, 4/23/2014]

Also of Interest:

INTERNATIONAL

US clears Egypt for military assistance
The Obama administration said Tuesday it has certified that Egypt is upholding its 35-year-old peace treaty with Israel and therefore qualifies for some military and counterterrorism assistance. Secretary of State John Kerry informed Egypt’s foreign minister, Nabil Fahmy, of the decision in a telephone call, crediting the Egyptian government with sustaining its strategic relationship with the United States and fulfilling its obligations to Israel, according to State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki. The decision clears the way for the release of Apache helicopters to Egypt, which the United States has held up since July when the Egyptian military overthrew President Mohamed Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood-led government. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel informed Defense Minister Col. Gen. Sedki Sobhi of President Barack Obama’s decision to deliver the Apaches in support of Egypt’s counterterrorism operations in the Sinai, the Pentagon said. Hours after the decision, the State Department announced head of Egypt’s General Intelligence Major General Mohamed al-Tohamy is scheduled to hold a closed meeting in Washington with Kerry on Wednesday. [AP, Ahram Online, Reuters, DNE, Aswat Masriya, 4/23/2014]

Also of Interest:

  • Ethiopian Orthodox Church patriarch delays Egypt visit | Ahram Online
  • Serendipity aids Egypt in struggle to recover stolen heritage | Reuters
  • Foreign Minister meets Chinese official to discuss democratic transition in Egypt | Shorouk (Arabic)