Prosecutor-general Hisham Barakat has ordered an appeal against a court verdict that dropped charges of killing protesters during the 2011 uprising against ousted president Hosni Mubarak, and acquitted him of corruption charges.

POLITICS

Cabinet amends criminal procedures law following Mubarak’s acquittal
Egypt’s cabinet approved on Tuesday a draft law issued by the presidency to amend the criminal procedures law to extend the statute of limitations for bribery. According to the new amendment, the statute of limitations for bribery starts the moment the public employee who committed the crime is removed from post, instead of starting right after the crime is committed. The amendment is in order as long as the crime has not been investigated before. Political parties welcomed this anti-corruption legislative reform, citing an urgent need to impose referendum on judgments given by courts. [Aswat Masriya, Ahram (Arabic), Ahram Gateway (Arabic), 12/2/2014]

Supreme Administrative Court rejects challenge to presidential election law
The Supreme Administrative Court rejected the appeal filed by lawyer Khalid Bedeir Abd al-Salam against the validity of the presidential election law. In his challenge, Bedeir called for considering the current presidential elections invalid. According to Bedeir, the law was issued by an incompetent authority, since it was issued by then interim president Adly Mansour, the head of the Supreme Constitutional Court. [SIS, 12/2/2014]

Also of Interest
Presidency mulls new cities in Sinai | Ahram Online
Brotherhood denies prosecution’s claims of attempts to ‘overthrow Egyptian state’ | DNE
Wafd coalition to discuss parliamentary candidates Sunday | Ahram Online
Cabinet to confirm final constituency division next week | Aswat Masriya (Arabic)

COURTS

Egypt prosecutor appeals Mubarak verdict, cites legal flaws
Prosecutor-general Hisham Barakat has ordered an appeal against a court verdict that dropped charges of killing protesters during the 2011 uprising against ousted president Hosni Mubarak, and acquitted him of corruption charges. In a statement issued on Tuesday, Barakat said a committee of prosecutors had concluded that the verdict was “legally flawed.” The statement did not say why the verdict was flawed and did not say when the prosecution will submit the appeal to the Court of Cassation. Under Egyptian law all the necessary appeal documents must be submitted with the Court of Cassation within sixty days of the verdict.  If Mubarak is retried in the case, it would be for the third and final time under Egyptian law. Hafez Abu Saeda, a member of the National Council for Human Rights, welcomed an appeal, saying a number of points in the case are subject to review. On Monday, attorney Wael Shebel said the prosecutorial team would deduct time served in pretrial detention from Mubarak’s sentence, and a decision on Mubarak’s detention would be issued within the next forty-eight hours. According to the 2014 constitution, if found innocent in retrial, Mubarak would have the right to request financial compensation for his time in remand. However, his frozen assets overseas may no longer be recoverable after the charges against him were dropped. [Ahram Online, DNE, Egypt Independent, AP, Aswat Masriya, Reuters, Mada Masr, Shorouk (Arabic), 12/2/2014]

Also of Interest
Retrial in Abu Zaabal police van case scheduled for January 22 | DNE, Aswat Masriya
‘Al-Fatah Mosque clashes’ trial adjourned | DNE
Trial of four officers spying for Israeli intelligence agency postponed to January 1 | Aswat Masriya (Arabic)
Morsi Ittihadiya trial adjourned to December 4 | Aswat Masriya (Arabic), IANS, Ahram (Arabic), Shorouk (Arabic)
Brotherhood figure’s lawyer calls for filing lawsuit against Sisi | Egypt Independent

ECONOMY

First economic stimulus package projects to end in Q1 2015, says planning minister
The projects of the first economic stimulus package, adopted in July 2013, will be concluded before the end of the first quarter of 2015, Minister of Planning Ashraf al-Araby told Daily News Egypt. Araby explained that the government had already finished 75 percent of the projects of the first package at the end of fiscal year (FY) 2013/2014, noting that they had allocated 5 billion Egyptian pounds in state budget for the FY 2014/2015 with the aim of concluding the incomplete projects. With regards to the second stimulus package, Araby said that many projects in the housing sector will be concluded within two months. [DNE, 12/2/2014]

Also of Interest
Ministry: Egypt’s budget deficit reaches 84.5 billion Egyptian pounds in July-October 2014/15 | Egypt Independent
Egyptian consumers unlikely to feel oil price drop, despite macro gains | Ahram Online
Egypt’s stocks slide as Arab investors sell | Ahram Online
4.2 billion Egyptian pounds annual losses due to poor wheat handling | DNE
Farmers request 12 percent increase in beetroot supply price | DNE
Sino-Egyptian trade committee discuss upping Chinese investments to Egypt | MENA
Lawyer: Steel tycoon Ahmed Ezz to request reimbursement on his government fine | Egypt Independent
Study: Islamic banks grow but may miss out on global footprint | Reuters
Production of free zones in Egypt has a market size of 1.6 billion consumers | SIS
Number of tourists increased 70 percent in the third quarter | Aswat Masriya (Arabic)

SOCIETY & MEDIA

Democratic Current launches campaign to retry Mubarak 
The Democratic Current for Civil Forces announced that it will form a new campaign demanding the retrial of former president Hosni Mubarak, his sons, and six of his aides. The campaign, dubbed “Try Them,” aims to provide the judiciary with a “full report of the violations and crimes of the Mubarak regime, which affected the country’s security.” The group demanded that all revolutionary groups provide evidence that might assist the prosecution of members of the Mubarak regime. Another group, The National Alliance Supporting Legitimacy (NASL), called for a million-man march on Tuesday under the banner “God is Great… One Hand.” Meanwhile, the wife of a Muslim Brotherhood senior leader Mohamed al-Beltagy, who is currently on trial, has decried Mubarak’s verdict. Sanaa Abdel Gawwad said on her Facebook page that “fair retribution against Mubarak, [President Abdel Fattah] al-Sisi and their gangs” would be inevitable. Muslim Brotherhood youth members issued a statement Sunday night calling for unity between all revolutionary forces, especially youth groups. However, other revolutionary forces received the call with suspicion, rejecting a possible rapprochement with the group. [Aswat Masriya, DNE, Egypt Independent, Mada Masr, 12/2/2014]

Also of Interest
WHO demands end to ‘virginity tests’ | DNE
Retribution outside the realm of law is ‘not permissible’: Dar al-Ifta | DNE
Study shows media freedom in Egypt incomplete due to government control over finance | Aswat Masriya (Arabic)

SECURITY

Six unidentified dead bodies found in North Sinai 
Residents of North Sinai’s Sheikh Zuweid found the dead bodies of six citizens shot in the head early Tuesday, police sources said. Witnesses said they had found five bodies on a main road in Sheikh Zuweid before carrying them to the local hospital, while security found the sixth corpse in the vicinity of the Arish seaport.  Four tribal youths were kidnapped by unidentified militants four days ago, the sources added. [Egypt Independent, Aswat Masriya, 12/2/2014]

Also of Interest
Policeman shot dead in Egypt’s Assiut | Ahram Online, Aswat Masriya
Military operation in Sinai kills six “terrorists” and arrests five Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis members | Ahram (Arabic)
After joining ISIS, Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis expands in Egypt | Al Monitor

INTERNATIONAL

Egypt condemns Erdogan’s ‘flagrant intervention’ in its internal affairs
Egypt’s foreign ministry condemned Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s remarks and his “flagrant intervention” in Egypt’s internal affairs, according to a Monday statement by the ministry. The statement comes after Erdogan again made critical comments on Egypt. In a conference with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Monday, Erdogan said that incumbent president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi assumed power “illegitimately,” while “the elected Egyptian president [Mohamed Morsi] lies in prison.” [DNE, Egypt Independent, Aswat Masriya (Arabic), Ahram Gateway (Arabic), 12/2/2014]

Also of Interest
Washington: Brotherhood is not a terrorist group | Egypt Independent
Grand Mufti, former Canterbury Archbishop set to speak against radicalism | DNE
FM to meet UN envoy | SIS
Algerian Parliament speaker hails ties with Egypt | SIS
Houthis’ advance threatens Red Sea countries | Al Monitor