A US diplomat pressed Cairo to respect “basic rights and freedoms” Thursday, warning that Egypt’s stability and economic recovery were at stake, as a court opened a trial of Al-Jazeera journalists. Washington, whose ties with historic ally Cairo have cooled in recent months, has previously reprimanded Egyptian authorities for the trial of twenty journalists of the Doha-based television news network. These warnings come as interim President Adly Mansour met with US Senator Tim Kaine, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee. Mansour and Kaine discussed bilateral relations between Egypt and the United States, according to a statement released Thursday afternoon by Ambassador Ihab Badawy, spokesperson of the Egyptian presidency.
GOVERNMENT & OPPOSITION
Khaled Ali announces presidential bid; Meets with Sabbahy
Sources close to former presidential candidate Khaled Ali said he will soon be announcing his presidential bid for the elections expected to take place this spring. The sources also said that Ali did not change his decision after he met on Wednesday with Hamdeen Sabbahy, who announced earlier this month that he will run in the elections. Al-Ahram reported that the two men met on Thursday in response to a call by head of the Egyptian Socialist Popular Alliance Party, Abdel-Ghafar Shokr. The potential candidates have refrained from giving any media statements about the subject of their discussions, but Shokr has said that the two campaigns agreed to coordinate on particular issues, “especially concerning exerting pressure for the release of the arrested revolutionary youth who face cruel mistreatment.” He also said the two candidates were to discuss how to cooperate in the election to avoid dividing the revolutionary vote, as in past elections. Heba Yasseen, spokesperson for Sabbahy’s Popular Current party, told Mada Masr that the party would issue a statement following the talk. [Ahram Online, Mada Masr, Egypt Independent, 2/20/2014]
Also of Interest:
Alleged spy obtained information from police and army personnel | Egypt Independent
Activists who backed Morsi’s fall turn against military | Reuters
Egypt’s Constitution Party votes on ElBaradei’s successor | Ahram Online, Aswat Masriya
Interior minister denies torture in prisons, random arrests | Egypt Independent
Education minister: Extending mid term holiday was for security reasons not for swine flu | Egypt Independent
Watan Party backtracks on Morsi’s return request, mulls participating in elections | Egypt Independent
Rights group: Witness protection law no more than ‘ink on paper’ | Mada Masr
COURTS & CONSTITUTION
Prosecution refers forty-seven Brotherhood supporters to criminal court
A prosecutor has referred forty-seven Muslim Brotherhood supporters to criminal court on charges related to breaking into and torching the Tebbin Police Station. Sherif Ashraf, South Cairo Prosecutor, charged the defendants with demonstrating, rioting, attempting to murder a number of policemen, torching the police station, attempting to smuggle convicts, possessing arms, and joining an illegal organization. [Aswat Masriya, 2/20/2014]
ECONOMY
Egypt to receive $3 billion in aid soon from Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia will provide Egypt with $3 billion in aid soon, mostly in the form of petroleum products, to help stabilize the country’s economy. Sami Khallaf, adviser to the Egyptian minister of finance, said in a press statement on Wednesday that Egypt has already received $2 billion from the Kingdom. The total aid package is worth $5 billion. He said the $2 billion non-refundable grant was given before the recent visit of Egyptian Prime Minister Hazem El-Beblawy to the Kingdom earlier this month. [Arab News, 2/21/2014]
Also of Interest:
Egypt’s population rises by 1 million in six months | Ahram Online
EFSA sets new regulations for foreign organizations | Cairo Post
Coach blast knocks back Egypt’s tourism recovery | Reuters
Op-ed: Egypt syndicates withdraw financial aid to revolution victims | Al Monitor
SOCIETY & MEDIA
Clashes and arrests in pro-Morsi protests on Friday
The National Alliance to Support Legitimacy called its supporters to stage marches on Friday after prayers in Cairo and Giza under the slogan “Bring Down the regime, the revolution continues.” The Alliance stressed in a statement Thursday that the protests would not be violent as the Alliance would not allow for a civil war. Protests nonetheless turned violent as security forces dispersed marches in several governorates. In Alexandria, ten Brotherhood supporters were arrested as police dispersed a protest in Sidi Beshr, while three were arrested in Mounifeya. Clashes also took place in Cairo, in the Ain Shams area, in Nasr City, where Egypt’s state television reported that Muslim Brotherhood elements cut off Abbas al-Aqqad street. In Mattariya, the clashes caused the metro station to shut down, while in Haram, satellite channel Tahrir TV accused protesters of setting fire to one of their vans. In Suez, violent clashes erupted between protesters and residents of the area, where cars and storefronts were damaged before police intervened. Meanwhile, in Alexandria’s Qaed Ibrahim, dozens of Egyptians took to the street calling on Field Marshal Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to run for president. [Egypt Independent, 2/21/2014]
Twenty-four injured, seven arrested in clashes between Ultras and security forces
Fans of al-Alhy football club and hardcore fans “Ultras Ahlawy” clashed with security forces following a football match between the Egyptian Ahly Club and the Tunisian Sfaxien Club, reported the Middle East News Agency (MENA). Clashes between police forces and members of the Ultras Ahlawy group left twenty-four injured on Thursday night, according to the Ministry of Health. In a statement to the Egyptian Radio and Television Union’s Akhbar Masr website, spokesman Ahmed Kamel said there were no fatalities. Security sources said three officers and five soldiers were among the injured, MENA reported. During the match, Ultras Ahlawy members began chanting slogans against the police forces and former Interior Minister Habib al-Adly, one of the football fans told Mada Masr. Video footage released after the game showed that police forces began tearing down the ultras’ banners in retaliation against the chants, provoking the football fans to throw water bottles and rocks at security personnel. As security forces attempted to regain control, the crowd launched fireworks and threw chairs at security forces, who responded with tear gas. A video showed a group of Ultras Ahlawy fans severely beating a Central Security Forces soldier. The video went viral on social media and has been heavily condemned. While initial reports indicated a total of twenty-four injuries, according to Al-Shorouk, the prosecution listened to testimonies of twenty-five injured police officers and soldiers who reported they were injured by the Ultras. They also reported that they were attacked by Molotov cocktails, fireworks and firearms. Seven Ultras have been detained for four days pending investigations. They are facing charges of assaulting police in charge of securing the stadium. [Aswat Masriya, Mada Masr, Shorouk (Arabic), AMAY (Arabic), 2/21/2014]
Also of Interest:
Mallaha workers give government sixty days to respond to demands | Aswat Masriya, AMAY (Arabic)
Ahram Online in Mahalla: Striking workers insist on CEO’s removal | Ahram Online
Orthodox Church approves election list of its patriarch for the first time in seventy-five years| Aswat Masriya, AMAY (Arabic)
Egypt in three years: State vs journalists | Mada Masr
Al-Azhar preacher calls for greater attention to the conditions of Egyptians and less focus on politics | EGYNews (Arabic), Ahram Gateway (Arabic)
Egypt’s population will reach 94 million on Saturday | Ahram (Arabic)
Egyptian Doctors Syndicate to discuss ongoing strike | Ahram Online
SECURITY
Five detained on charges of belonging to Al-Qaeda
The State Security Prosecution ordered on Thursday the detention of five Egyptians accused of forming a terrorist organization and belonging to Al-Qaeda. The accused were deported from Madagascar by the French authorities for their involvement in an attack on French troops there, killing several French officers. They were detained for fifteen days pending investigation. Initial investigation revealed that they had left Egypt in 2002 and 2004, joined Al-Qaeda, received military training in Afghanistan and moved to Madagascar to resist the French troops there. [Egypt Independent, 2/21/2014]
Also of Interest:
One suspect arrested in connection with Kerdasa police massacre | EGYNews (Arabic)
Five killed and thirty-six arrested in Sinai raids | Tahrir (Arabic)
REGIONAL & INTERNATIONAL
United States warns Egypt not to target media; Senator Tim Kaine meets Egyptian officials
A US diplomat pressed Cairo to respect “basic rights and freedoms” Thursday, warning that Egypt’s stability and economic recovery were at stake, as a court opened a trial of Al-Jazeera journalists. Washington, whose ties with historic ally Cairo have cooled in recent months, has previously reprimanded Egyptian authorities for the trial of twenty journalists of the Doha-based television news network. “The government’s targeting of journalists and others on questionable claims is wrong and demonstrates an egregious disregard for the protection of basic rights and freedoms,” a State Department official told AFP. These warnings come as interim President Adly Mansour met with US Senator Tim Kaine, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee. Mansour and Kaine discussed bilateral relations between Egypt and the United States, according to a statement released Thursday afternoon by Ambassador Ihab Badawy, spokesperson of the Egyptian presidency. “President Mansour told Senator Kaine that Egypt was keen on relations with the United States and that to maintain these relations the United States should be keen as well,” Badawy said. “Egypt wanted the United States to understand what was happening in Egypt as we are fighting a real war against terrorism in Sinai and the rest of the country. It is important to find the friendly countries on Egypt’s side,” Badawy added. Kaine also met with Minister of Foreign Affairs Nabil Fahmy and Defense Minister Field Marshal Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. In meetings with the government officials, Kaine expressed support for the US-Egypt strategic relationship, encouraged progress on Egypt’s democratic transition, discussed security in the Sinai, stressed the importance for economic recovery and planning, and shared concerns over the jailing of journalists. In meetings with Egyptian youth, opposition leaders, civil society, and Egyptian business leaders, Kaine asked about the political environment in Egypt, discussed political and economic reform, and listened to ideas about how to ensure Egypt’s democratic progress. [AFP/DNE, Ahram Online, 2/21/2014]
Russian official calls on tourists not to leave Egypt
Executive Director of the Russian Tour Operators’ Association (ATOR) Maya Lomidze said Friday that tourist areas in Egypt are safe, calling on tourists not to leave before the end of their recreation trips. Lomidze added in a press statement that none of the Russian tourists in Egypt have expressed a desire to return to Russia, which indicates that they believe everything is fine. According to the Russian news agency RIA Novosti, Lomidze noted in her remarks that the militant group called Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis had warned tourists in Egypt not to remain in the country after Thursday, and threatened to attack any tourist who stays after the deadline. “According to the available information, no [significant number of] foreign tourists have left Egypt, which means that the international community has not yielded to the threats of terrorist group,” Lomidze said. [Egypt Independent, 2/21/2014]
Also of Interest:
Fahmy visits DRC and Tanzania | DNE
Thirteen Egyptians denied entry to Libya | Egypt Independent, Ahram Gateway (Arabic)
No space for dissidence in Egypt, warns HRW | Mada Masr
We are committed to 1959 Nile water sharing agreement: Egyptian and Sudanese officials | DNE