Egypte : Mohamed Morsi et plusieurs Frères musulmans, dont le Guide suprême, jugés aujourd’hui dans une nouvelle audience du procès pour « espionnage » - Mada Masr
▻http://www.madamasr.com/content/grand-espionage-case-resume-monday
Egypte : Mohamed Morsi et plusieurs Frères musulmans, dont le Guide suprême, jugés aujourd’hui dans une nouvelle audience du procès pour « espionnage » - Mada Masr
▻http://www.madamasr.com/content/grand-espionage-case-resume-monday
Egypt’s universities issue more security regulations ahead of new semester | Mada Masr
▻http://www.madamasr.com/content/egypts-universities-issue-more-security-regulations-ahead-new-semester
University administrations are preemptively tightening their grip on student communities with an onslaught of new security measures as they prepare for the launch of the new academic year on October 11.
Cairo University President Gaber Nasser has instructed professors to steer clear of any political or partisan activities on campus, the privately owned ONA news agency reported on Thursday.
’You are being watched!’ Egypt’s mass Internet surveillance | Mada Masr
▻http://www.madamasr.com/content/you-are-being-watched-egypts-mass-internet-surveillance
#Egypt Textile workers killed in factory collapse, shot in labor protest | Mada Masr
▻http://www.madamasr.com/content/textile-workers-killed-factory-collapse-shot-labor-protest
Egypt’s textile industry was dealt a hand of fatal blows this week when a garment factory collapsed in Obour City, claiming at least five lives, and at least seven textile workers were shot by police forces in Alexandria when a labor protest turned violent.
On Tuesday, rescue teams recovered the fifth body from the rubble of a garment dying factory that collapsed early on Monday morning in Obour City, an industrial area outside of Cairo. The incident also reportedly injured more than 30 workers, who were on the night shift at the time of the accident.
The Arab Sharkas cell: The quasi-covert military trial of #Ansar_Beit_al-Maqdes
▻http://www.madamasr.com/content/arab-sharkas-cell-quasi-covert-military-trial-ansar-beit-al-maqdes
New Jihadis: From Egypt to Syria and back
It is impossible even for close followers and specialists in Jihadi movements to recognize any of the defendants’ names or pictures. Only two of them were previously arrested during ousted President Hosni Mubarak’s rule, (...)
Exclusive: Islamic State guides Egyptian militants, expanding its influence
▻http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/09/05/us-egypt-islamicstate-idUSKBN0H018F20140905
Miss Egypt competition to restart after three years | Mada Masr
▻http://www.madamasr.com/content/miss-egypt-competition-restart-after-three-years
Les choses vont mieux en Egypte !
The organizing committee for the Miss Egypt beauty pageant have announced the resumption of their annual contest this year, following a three-year hiatus.
Egypte : mort d’Ahmed Seif el Islam, saint patron de la justice – Nouvelles du Caire
▻http://blog.slateafrique.com/nouvelles-du-caire/2014/08/28/egypte-mort-d%E2%80%99ahmed-seif-el-islam-saint-patron-de-la-just
Mort d’une figure emblématique de la militance égyptienne et de la lutte pour les droits de l’homme, le père d’Alaa Abdel Fattah et Mona Seif, tous deux emprisonnés actuellement, alors qu’Alaa a commencé une grève de la faim la semaine dernière.
Voici la lettre ouverte de son fils, traduite en anglais :
►http://www.madamasr.com/content/open-letter
Triste jour pour les luttes égyptiennes.
An open letter |
Alaa Abd El Fattah
Mada Masr
►http://www.madamasr.com/content/open-letter
have decided — when I saw my father fighting against death locked in a body that was no longer subject to his will — I decided to start an open hunger strike until I achieve my freedom. The well-being of my body is of no value while it remains subject to an unjust power in an open-ended imprisonment not controlled by the law or any concept of justice.
I’ve had the thought before, but I put it aside. I did not want to place yet another burden on my family — we all know that the Ministry of the Interior does not make life easy for hunger strikers. But now I’ve realized that my family’s hardship increases with every day that I’m in jail. My youngest sister, Sanaa, and the protestors of Ettehadiya were arrested only because they demanded freedom for people already detained. They put my sister in prison because she demanded my freedom! And so our family’s efforts were fragmented between two prisoners, and my father’s heart worn out between two courts — my father, who had postponed a necessary surgery more than once because of this ill-fated Shura Council case.
They tore me from my son, Khaled, while he was still struggling to get over the trauma of my first imprisonment. Then there was the brute performance of the Ministry of the Interior as they carried out their “humane” gesture — my visit to my father in the ICU. The police tried to empty the hospital ward and corridor of patients and doctors and family and nurses before they would allow the visit. They set times and informed us, and then canceled. In the end they snatched me from my prison cell at dawn with the same tenderness shown when they arrested me.
The police general could not decide how to ensure I would not escape. He was completely convinced that this was all a ruse, that nobody was sick and we were conspiring to deprive him of his hours of rest. I arrived at the hospital chained to the iron frame of the police transport vehicle, and, finally, in the ward they snuck in a camera and filmed us against our will.
Arab Dar al-Handassa wins Suez Canal bid | Mada Masr
▻http://www.madamasr.com/content/arab-dar-al-handassa-wins-suez-canal-bid
Dar al-Handassa was established in Lebanon by a Palestinian engineer named Kamal al-Shaer, which, according to Nael al-Shafei, a lecturer at the University of Massachusetts who conducted research on the new Suez Canal project, was an unofficial financier of the Palestinian Liberation Organization in the 1960s.
The company slowly distanced itself from the PLO and in the 1980s, the Saudi branch, which will undertake the Suez Canal project today, became associated with Sheikh Kamal Adham, the founder of the Saudi intelligence. It is unclear whether Adham is still involved as a partner in the Saudi branch of the company, but Shafei says that Dar al-Handassa, which undertakes major national projects in the Gulf, has King Abdullah himself as a partner.
Activist Alaa Abd El Fattah joins hunger striking political prisoners | Mada Masr
▻http://www.madamasr.com/content/activist-alaa-abd-el-fattah-joins-hunger-striking-political-prisoners
Leading leftist activist Alaa Abd El Fattah launched an open-ended hunger strike Monday evening from his cell in Tora Prison, joining a growing number of political prisoners engaging in this act of resistance behind bars.
Des avocats adressent une pétition à l’ONU pour la libération du militant égyptien Alaa Abdel Fattah
Traduction publiée le 28 Août 2014
▻http://fr.globalvoicesonline.org/2014/08/28/173880
Suite à la grève de la faim entamée par le blogueur et activiste égyptien Alaa Abd El Fattah, actuellement détenu, la Media Legal Defence Initiative (MLDI) et l’Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) ont envoyé une pétition au Groupe de Travail de l’ONU sur la Détention Arbitraire (UNWGAD) exigeant des mesures pour la libération immédiate d’Abd El Fattah.
Le blogueur égyptien de 32 ans récompensé par plusieurs prix a été l’un des premiers citoyens du Net à lancer un appel au changement politique en Egypte. Avec la collaboration de son épouse Manal Hasaan, Abd El Fattah a utilisé internet pour défendre la liberté d’expression avec Manalaa et Omraneya, premiers ‘agrégateurs de blogs’ du monde arabe à ne pas pratiquer la censure sur la base du contenu. Ses publications en ligne ont fait de lui un leader de premier plan dans la promotion et la défense des droits humains et des libertés fondamentales dans la société égyptienne .
Le 11 Juin 2014, Abd El Fattah devait comparaitre à son procès, pour avoir délibérément organisé une marche de protestation contre de nouvelles lois controversées anti-manifestations ;. Sans procès, il a été condamné arbitrairement à 15 ans d’emprisonnement.
Durant toute sa vie, Abd El Fattah a fait l’objet d’enquête ou de périodes de détention de la part de tous les chefs d’Etat égyptiens en fonction. En 2006, il a été arrété pour avoir participé à une manifestation pacifique. En 2011, il a passé deux mois en prison, ratant ainsi la naissance de son premier enfant. En 2013, il a été arrêté et détenu durant 115 jours sans procès.
The regime’s new clothes | Mada Masr
▻http://www.madamasr.com/content/regimes-new-clothes
The new regime has its accomplices and plenty of supporters, relieved to see the state reassert its authority, and “the people” back to a state of appropriate passivity and silence. But the authorities’ hypersensitivity to dissent reveals a deep unease. Otherwise, how to explain the need to criminalize hand gestures, hunt down flyers, investigate telephone ads, and treat comedy shows as threats to national security?
#Egypte 2 tués et 3 blessés graves lors d’une manif anti-austérité réprimée par les forces de l’ordre - Mada Masr
▻http://www.madamasr.com/content/2-killed-3-critically-injured-anti-austerity-protests-cairo
A lire sur @OrientXXI La drôle de guerre éco de Sissi ►http://orientxxi.info/magazine/la-drole-de-guerre-economique-du,0632
Egypt : As Gaza death toll climbs to 88, Sinai hospitals receive 11 injured | Mada Masr
▻http://www.madamasr.com/content/update-gaza-death-toll-climbs-88-sinai-hospitals-receive-11-injured
By Thursday evening Egyptian hospitals had received 11 Palestinians injured in the latest Israeli air strike, according to North Sinai deputy health minister Tarek Khater, reported Thursday the state-owned Middle East News Agency (MENA).
Egypte Comment l’Etat utilise le viol pour faire taire les opposant-e-s - Par Sarah Carr I Madamasr
(A lire absolument)
►http://www.madamasr.com/content/sexual-assault-and-state-history-violence
Egypt Sexual assault and the state: A history of violence, by Sarah Carr | Mada Masr
(Must read)
►http://www.madamasr.com/content/sexual-assault-and-state-history-violence
Egypte Discours du président Sissi sur les hausses des taxes et le terrorisme à l’occasion de la commémoration de la guerre contre Israël I Mada Masr
▻http://www.madamasr.com/content/sisi-addresses-lifting-fuel-subsidies-october-6-anniversary-speech
President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi defended his latest decision to partially lift fuel subsidies in a speech on the Ramadan anniversary of the October 6 War, calling on Egyptians to restore the spirit of these times.
The Egyptian people faced a lot of pain and suffering between the June 1967 defeat and victory in the October 1973 War, Sisi said, adding that the people were a fundamental partner in the victory due to the dire economic conditions they endured.
Egypt : State institutions reject maximum wage | Mada Masr
6th of July
▻http://www.madamasr.com/content/state-institutions-reject-maximum-wage
Several state-owned institutions have objected to the implementation of a maximum wage in the public sector, a measure that was stipulated in a law amended by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Thursday.
According to the law, the net income for all state employees should not exceed 35 times the minimum wage, thus capping it at LE42,000 per month. The law applies to all government employees, as well as employees in state-owned companies, advisors and other non-contractual state workers. The law only excludes expenses such as travel and housing allowance from the maximum wage, while all bonuses and incentives are to remain within the set limit.
The law also excludes diplomatic missions and other state employees representing Egypt abroad from its stipulations.
On Sunday, employees at the head branch of Al-Ahly National Bank closed the branch protesting the decision.
Quoting judicial sources, state-owned Al-Ahram also reported that judges at the State Council and State Lawsuits Authority refused to allow the Central Auditing Agency access to a database of their salaries, which allegedly surpass the maximum wage. According to the sources, the judges in these institutions get assigned to work in different ministries, and earn a much higher salary.
According to Al-Masry Al-Youm, there is also resistance to the law in the petrol and communication sectors, where the wages of several executives surpass LE200,000.
The new maximum and minimum wages are meant to enforce Article 27 of the 2014 Constitution, which stipulates that “the economic system is socially obliged to equal opportunities, fair distribution of development returns, decreasing the differences between wages, the commitment to a minimum wage that grants good living standards, and a maximum wage to all state actors according to the law.”
The minimum wage was set at LE1,200 per month by former Prime Minister Hazem al-Beblawi’s Cabinet.
Egypt : Electricity prices to increase in July, says ministry | Mada Masr
▻http://www.madamasr.com/content/electricity-prices-increase-july-says-ministry
Electricity Minister Mohamed Shaker announced on Thursday a five-year plan to hike electricity prices in a bid to cut state subsidies for the sector, going into effect as of July.
Coptic youth sentenced to 6 years for defaming Islam | Mada Masr
▻http://www.madamasr.com/content/coptic-youth-sentenced-6-years-defaming-islam
Prosecutors levied charges of religious defamation and stirring up sectarian strife against the 19 year-old defendant, Kirolos Shawqy Attallah.
According to the private ONA News Agency, the court in Armant found Attallah guilty of posting photos that defame the Islamic faith on his Facebook page.
Attallah and his lawyers may seek to overturn Tuesday’s verdict, or strive for a reduced sentence before the appellate courts.
The German Press Agency (DPA) reported that Tuesday’s court session witnessed an increased security presence amidst fears of renewed sectarian strife.
The DPA mentioned that angry assailants had previously hurled stones at Attallah’s home in the village of Mahameed al-Bahry, near the town of Armant. Some shops owned by Coptic Christians around the village were also targeted in attacks.
ONA reported that six of the assailants were arrested for sectarian attacks and instigating unrest.
On Thursday, independent NGO, the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), issued a press release denouncing the sentencing of a Coptic woman in Luxor.
On June 15, the Luxor Appeals Court sentenced the Christian schoolteacher, Demiana Abdel Nour, to six months in prison on similar charges — for defaming Islam.
The EIPR issued a press release on Thursday in which it claimed Luxor Governorate has witnessed a particularly high number of criminal charges and court cases pertaining to blasphemy and the defamation of religion.
This press release added that religious minorities are “increasingly prosecuted using unconstitutional laws.”
According to Egypt’s new national Constitution, which was widely approved by a popular referendum in January 2014, Article 64 guarantees absolute religious freedom, while Article 65 safeguards freedom of thought, expression and opinion.
Nonetheless, according to Article 98(f) of Egypt’s Penal Code: Ridiculing the (Abrahamic) heavenly faiths, and the propagation of atheism in words, writing, or other means is punishable by sentences of imprisonment of up to five years, and/or fines of up to LE1,000.
According to Article 160, the desecration of religious symbols is punishable by imprisonment of up to five years, and/or fines of up to LE500.
Article 161 stipulates that mocking a religion or a religious rite in public is a crime bearing the same penalties as are stipulated in Article 160.
The EIPR report mentions that 27 defendants were convicted on charges of defaming religion between 2011 and 2013.
Further cases pertaining to blasphemy or religious defamation are ongoing before the criminal courts.
Earlier this month, Human Rights Watch issued a statement calling on Egyptian authorities to refrain from prosecuting atheists/agnostics in the country.
#Egypt/#MuslimBrotherhood : Cabinet committee granted power to seize, manage MB assets | Mada Masr
▻http://www.madamasr.com/content/cabinet-committee-granted-power-seize-manage-mb-assets
The Justice Ministry formed the committee, which is headed by Justice Minister Nayer Othman, to identify the banned Islamist organization’s financial activities and holdings, following a court order issued in September 2013 to freeze and confiscate all Brotherhood assets.
In December, the group was designated as a banned terrorist organization.
The Cabinet’s decision will give the committee greater powers, allowing it to take control of and manage any Brotherhood financial resources.