Egypt’s former ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi was given fifteen days of detention on Tuesday over new charges related to a massive sit-in held by his supporters after his ouster in 2013. Along with other defendants, Morsi is charged with inciting his supporters to commit murder, demonstrate and disturb the public peace.

POLITICS

Egyptian Brotherhood figure says younger members taking up leadership roles
Younger members of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt are taking up leadership roles as the movement renews itself despite the widespread jailing of its members, a senior Brotherhood figure told Reuters in Istanbul on Tuesday. “The overall attitude of the Brotherhood (is) more revolutionary because the generation taking it over is young and more revolutionary and they saw what kind of an Egypt we’d have if they don’t do what they have to do,” Amr Darrag said. He added, “Now you can find 29-30-year-olds running a governorate.” Meanwhile, political analysts told the privately-owned Shorouk that the low-ranking Brotherhood members and those living abroad are keen on reconciling with the current regime but the Brotherhood as a whole are still very loyal to their imprisoned dignitaries and supreme guide. [Reuters, 4/21/2015]

Also of Interest

• Environment ministry launches campaign in Red Sea in celebration of Earth Day | Egypt Independent
• Sisi’s crackdown on Islamists yet to win over Kerdasa | Reuters
• Sisi reviews project to establish new civilized, integrated communities | SIS

COURTS

Morsi faces new charges related to Raba’a al-Adaweya sit-in
Egypt’s former ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi was given fifteen days of detention on Tuesday over new charges related to a massive sit-in held by his supporters after his ouster in 2013. Morsi has been behind bars for over a year and a half. Along with other defendants, Morsi is charged with inciting his supporters to commit murder, demonstrate and disturb the public peace through the sit-in that was staged in Raba’a al-Adaweya, in Cairo’s Nasr City district. Others, already detained figures from the banned Muslim Brotherhood, from which Morsi hails, have also been listed as defendants by the prosecution, including Essam al-Erian and Essam al-Hadad. Hours after Morsi’s conviction for instigating violence at the Presidential Palace clashes in 2012, the press syndicate said that it would seek an appeal through its legal counselor in coordination with journalist Hussein Abu-Deif’s defense team to hold those responsible for his death accountable. Abu Deif was among the ten people killed in the clashes. While Morsi was sentenced to twenty years in prison on charges of inciting violence, he was acquitted on murder charges. [Ahram Online, DNE, 4/21/2015]

Media tycoon Sawiris defends Al Jazeera journalist Fahmy before court
The Cairo Criminal Court resumed Wednesday the retrial of Al Jazeera English journalists Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed at Tora Police Institute. The retrial saw business and media tycoon Naguib Sawiris testify as a defense witness in favor of Canadian journalist Fahmy. The court adjourned the case to April 28 session. “I can be absolutely certain that Mohamed Fahmy, based on my knowledge of him, doesn’t belong to the Muslim Brotherhood, and according to my information he participated in the January 25 Revolution and was supportive of the 30 June revolution that toppled the Brotherhood,” Sawiris said. In the March 25 session, the court ordered a new technical committee to look into video content that is supposed to be evidence against the defendants. The court said Wednesday that the new committee’s report will be revealed in the next session. Fahmy was handed a temporary new Canadian passport by the Canadian ambassador before the start of the retrial. His original one was seized by the Egyptian authorities upon his arrest. [DNE, EGYNews (Arabic), 4/22/2015]

National Security summons journalists following report on police violations
The National Security Agency summoned the editor-in-chief of the privately owned newspaper al-Masry al-Youm (AMAY) and four of the newspaper’s journalists for investigations on Tuesday, following the publication of a controversial report documenting police violations. The investigation was postponed to April 26 at the request of Journalists Syndicate head Yehia Qallash to allow more time for the journalists in question to be notified and for syndicate members to attend the questioning, since the summons was only issued late on Monday. Egypt’s press syndicate has called the interior ministry’s threat of legal action against AMAY “an attempt by executive bodies to clamp down on press freedom.” Meanwhile, the Socialist Popular Alliance party announced that the team of lawyers in Shaima al-Sabbagh’s murder trial have decided to include the AMAY report on police violations in their case, as it refers to her death. [Mada Masr, 4/21/2015]

Also of Interest

• ECSR lawyer submits appeal against Shura Council trial verdict | DNE
• Salafi sheikh sentenced to three years in prison on charges of inciting violence | Egypt Independent
• State counselors referred to disciplinary committee for joining ‘Judges for Egypt’ movement | AMAY (Arabic)
• Minya court sentences twenty-one Brotherhood members to fifteen years, one to ten | EGYNews (Arabic)

ECONOMY

Egypt requests new $300 million World Bank loan for health sector
The Egyptian government is negotiating with the World Bank to receive a new loan of $300 million to support health care in government hospitals, through the provision of medical equipment and removal of ineffective drugs. The ministry of health and various health departments across Egypt conducted a comprehensive survey of government hospitals to determine how the loan should be spent. Loan negotiations are ongoing to determine payments, and the bank will supervise the project’s implementation. The World Bank said Egypt will receive the loan next month and that the repayment period will be between twenty-five and thirty years. [DNE, 4/21/2015]

Also of Interest

• Financial, e-commerce sectors to benefit most from Internet speed increase | DNE
• Egypt’s Tahya Masr fund executive announces social service projects | Ahram Online
• Dubai’s Arabtec says in talks with banks to fund Egypt project | Reuters
• Egypt’s bourse raised EGP4 billion in Q1 2015 | Ahram Online
• Annual salaries in Egypt’s private sector rose 7.9 percent in 2013: CAPMAS | Ahram Online
• Egypt’s Railway Authority’s 2015/2016 budget may reach EGP 12.8 billion | DNE
• EGP 4.5billion allocated to improve public services says Minister of Finance | DNE
• Technical financial inclusion provides EGP 37 billion into banking sector| DNE
• Egypt’s e-commerce activity expected to double says Souq.com co-founder | DNE
• Egypt eyes EUR6 billion in French investments in 2017 | Amwal al-Ghad

SOCIETY & MEDIA

Barge capsizes in Egypt dropping tons of phosphate into Nile
Egypt’s Irrigation Minister Hossam Moghazi declared a state of extreme emergency at his ministry due to the capsizing of a barge carrying 500 tons of phosphate in Upper Egypt’s Qena on Tuesday. According to investigations, the ship carrier “Sinai” is affiliated with the Armed Forces and was traveling from Aswan to Cairo. It crashed into the Dandara Bridge, which resulted in the cargo falling overboard. The ship staff survived the accident. Qena governorate local authorities are coordinating with the Egypt Aluminum Company to have a barge pull the sunken tanker and phosphate from the water, said Qena Governor Major General Abdel Hamid al-Haggan. On Wednesday, an official at the National Water and Sanitation Company said samples extracted from the river at the site of the incident and nearby show “normal percentages” and that the Nile water is fit for human use. [Ahram Online, Egypt Independent, 4/22/2015]

Also of Interest

• Passport renewal facilitated for Egyptian residents in the Gulf | Ahram Online
• Renowned Egyptian poet Abdel-Rahman al-Abnoudi dies at 76 | Ahram Online, Egypt Independent, AP
• Egypt’s family planning programs have 200 percent return rate shows study | DNE
• CAPMAS: A newborn every fifteen seconds | Egypt Independent
• Minister says ticket prices for express trains different from current trains | Egypt Independent
• Prime Minister strips two citizens of nationality for joining foreign agency, troops | Egypt Independent
• Endowments ministry sets conditions for women preachers | Egypt Independent
• Agricultural Museum under investigation over ‘unauthorized’ green beans | Egypt Independent

SECURITY

Two policemen shot dead by gunmen in Cairo
Two Egyptian policemen were killed after being shot by unidentified gunmen in Cairo on Tuesday evening. Unidentified gunmen on a motorbike opened fire on a car carrying Colonel Wael Tahoon and a conscript in the eastern district of Ain Shams in Cairo, killing both men, a statement by Egypt’s interior ministry said. Tahoon, who previously served as a senior investigation officer in Matariya neighbourhood, an Islamist stronghold, is believed to have been specifically targeted in the attack. [Ahram Online, Reuters, 4/22/2015]

Also of Interest

• Report: Violent incidents increase in 15th week of 2015 | Egypt Independent
• Officer injured in attack against security ambush in Sinai | MENA
• Policeman succumbs to injuries sustained in North Sinai blast | Aswat Masriya
• Sinai security stymied by continued terrorist attacks | Al-Monitor

INTERNATIONAL

US, Turkey concerned by sentencing of Egypt’s Morsi
The United States expressed concern on Tuesday after an Egyptian court sentenced Islamist former president Mohamed Morsi and fourteen of his supporters to twenty years in prison. State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said in a press briefing that Washington would “review the basis” for the court’s decision and was “concerned by these sentences.” A similar statement was made by White House spokesman Josh Earnest who said the United States is concerned about the sentencing. Turkey also criticized the sentencing, saying in a foreign ministry statement that “arbitrary” trials in Egypt deepened doubts over the objectiveness of Morsi’s trial and “reinforced concerns” over the future of democracy in the country. Meanwhile, Amnesty International in a statement on Tuesday called for Morsi to be retried in a civilian court or to be released. Finally, a Brotherhood spokesperson said the Egyptian people “will not accept the verdicts by the judiciary of the coup,” and will continue the struggle to restore legitimacy. Egypt’s State Information Service issued a statement on Wednesday expressing its “deep disdain and resentment” over “the reactions of some countries and non-governmental organizations” to the verdict. SIS described statements on the verdict as an “unacceptable interference in Egypt’s internal affairs and a lack of respect for the rulings of the Egyptian judiciary,” adding that the defendants are being tried before a “normal court and not an exceptional one.” [AFP, 4/22/2015]

Also of Interest

• Arab army heads meet in Cairo for joint forces talk | Ahram Online, Aswat Masriya
• Egypt’s Foreign Minister visits Saudi Arabia | Ahram Online
• Boycott Israel movement launches in Egypt to wide political support | Ahram Online, DNE
• Banning countries from religious competition could ‘heighten tension’ says analyst | DNE
• Egypt expresses reservations on establishing Arab-Turkish business council | Egypt Independent
• Egypt calls on Yemeni rivals to reach agreement | SIS
• Matrouh security arrests 100 Egyptians travelling illegally to Libya |EGYNews (Arabic)
• Egyptian troops participating in joint military exercise arrive in Bahrain | Shorouk (Arabic)
• Foreign Minister’s Assistant says Egyptians must obtain visa before arriving in Turkey | Egypt Independent
• Egypt Prime Minister discusses reform of religious discourse with Singapore counterpart | Shorouk (Arabic)
• Mahlab reaffirms Egypt’s support for legitimacy in Libya, Yemen and anti-ISIS coalition | Shorouk (Arabic)
• Foreign Minister to participate in New York conference on reviewing Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty | Shorouk (Arabic)