Egypt: 4 dead, 70 injured in Defense Ministry clashes

Ahram Online
4 dead, 70 injured in defence ministry clashes: Tahrir doctors

Sunday, April 29, 2012

Despite official reports that no one was killed in Saturday clashes outside defence ministry, head of Tahrir Doctors puts death toll at 4 in addition to scores of injuries 

Four people were killed and roughly 70 injured in Saturday's clashes outside the Egyptian Defence Ministry in Cairo's Abassiya district, Mohamed Fatouh, head of the Tahrir Doctors Association, told Al-Ahram's Arabic-language news website.

The report contradicts official health ministry statements that no one had been killed in the clashes.
Fatouh said that most of the deaths had been due to the use of live ammunition, adding that he expected reports of additional casualties within coming hours.

Fatouh went on to say that additional doctors and medical equipment were needed to attend to the injured. A number of those wounded, he noted, had already been taken to the nearby Demerdash Hospital for emergency medical treatment.

The clashes began late Saturday evening when unknown assailants attacked a group of protesters – mostly supporters of disqualified Salafist presidential candidate Hazem Salah Abu-Ismail – who had been staging a sit-in outside the ministry building. 

The sit-in, which began Friday, was held to protest the recent decision by Egypt's Supreme Presidential Elections Commission to disqualify Abu-Ismail from the presidential race following allegations that his late mother had carried US nationality.

Protesters from other revolutionary groups – including Youth for Justice and Freedom, the Coalition of Revolutionary Forces, the Free Front for Peaceful Change and the Second Egyptian Revolution of Rage – all declared their solidarity with the sit-in's primary demand, namely the abdication of Egypt's ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces.


*Photo courtesy of Ahmed Ali/AP

Egyptian workers & Lebanese police clash at embassy in Beirut, 16 arrested

NOW Lebanon
Eight ISF members wounded during protest in front of Egyptian mission
 

April 28, 2012

 

MTV television station on Saturday reported that eight ISF members were wounded after a number of Egyptian workers, who were protesting in front of Egypt’s mission in Beirut, hurled stones at them.
 
The TV station said the ISF members suffered head and chest injuries, adding that two Egyptians were also wounded.

According to the report, all the injured people were transported to a hospital and the Internal Security Forces (ISF) arrested ten people involved in attacking the ISF personnel.

However, MTV did not explain why the workers were protesting.

In turn, the National News Agency (NNA) explained that twenty young Egyptian men, among them ten people covering themselves with blankets painted red, congregated on Saturday in front of the Labor Ministry in the Beirut area of Chiyyah and later headed to the Egyptian embassy.

The men were carrying a banner that read: “The sponsorship system kills one worker every day.”

The “sponsorship system” in Lebanon is comprised of various customary practices, administrative regulations, and legal requirements that tie a migrant domestic worker’s residence permit to one specific sponsor in the country. Migrant domestic workers are excluded from Lebanese labor laws, denied freedom of association, and are not guaranteed freedom of movement.

The NNA said the number of protesters later reached 60 and they tried to cross the barbed wire fence which the ISF had placed in the vicinity of the Egyptian  embassy “as a precautionary measure.” 
The report added that some protesters hurled stones at the ISF members and the embassy’s building, prompting security forces to arrest six of them.

Good riddance to the Saudi ambassador

The Guardian

Saudi Arabia recalls Egypt ambassador and closes consulates

Worst diplomatic row with Jeddah since Cairo's peace deal with Israel follows Saudi arrest of Ahmed el-Gezawi 

Saturday 28 April 2012

Saudi Arabia has recalled its ambassador from Egypt and threatened to close its embassy and all its consulates in protest at a series of demonstrations against the arrest of an Egyptian man.

The Saudi state news agency said the reason behind the diplomatic move was "unjustified protests" in Egypt and attempts to storm the Saudi embassy and consulates which "threatened the safety of its employees".

The unexpected escalation followed days of protests by hundreds of Egyptians outside the Saudi Embassy in Cairo and consulates in other cities to demand the release of Ahmed el-Gezawi.

Relatives and human rights groups say he was detained for insulting King Abdullah while Saudi authorities said he was arrested for trying to smuggle anti-anxiety drugs.

The arrest has prompted the worst diplomatic row between the two regional powerhouses since Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries broke off diplomatic ties with Egypt after it signed a peace deal with Israel in 1979. Diplomatic relations were restored in 1987.

Saudi Arabia said on Saturday it had recalled its ambassador from Egypt for "consultation" and would close its embassy and consulates in the Arab nation.

Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, the head of the army council governing Egypt, was working to "heal the rift".


*Photo courtesy of AP

Brotherhood supporters assault 2 journalists in Alexandria

Committee to Protect Journalists

Two Egyptian journalists attacked in Alexandria

New York, April 26, 2012--Supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood assaulted two Egyptian journalists seeking to cover a public conference held on Tuesday in Alexandria by a presidential candidate of the brotherhood's political party, according to news reports.

"All journalists have a right to cover candidates in a democratic election," said Robert Mahoney, CPJ's deputy director. "We strongly condemn this attack on journalists who were just trying to do their job."

About 10 Muslim Brotherhood supporters attacked Nessreen Fouad, a reporter for the Arab News Agency and the Egyptian broadcaster Al-Nahar TV, and Hanna Abu el-Ez, a correspondent for the daily Youm7, as they attempted to enter a public conference held by Mohamed Morsi, the presidential candidate of the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party, according to news reports.

The Muslim Brotherhood, an independent Islamic movement outlawed under the former regime of Hosni Mubarak, now holds a majority of seats in the Egyptian parliament through its political party.

When Fouad and el-Ez identified themselves at the entrance of the venue, the organizers accused them of being hired thugs and said they were not respectable women, the two told CPJ.

A group of Muslim Brotherhood supporters then began to attack them, hitting Fouad in the stomach and leg and tugging the veil off el-Ez's head and pulling her hair, the journalists told CPJ. Fouad said she sustained bruises on her left leg and stomach.

When the journalists were finally able to enter the venue, the attackers accused them of starting the fight, the journalists told CPJ. When Fouad showed them a digital recording of the attack, she said the assailants backed off and instead tried to calm the journalists down.

Fouad and el-Ez filed a complaint with the police against Morsi and his supporters, they told CPJ. They also said that ever since the attack, members of the Muslim Brotherhood had used social networking sites to claim that they were hired thugs and had framed the organizers of the conference.

Youm7 reported yesterday that a few members of the Muslim Brotherhood had apologized to the journalists at the conference, citing poor organization and congestion as reasons for the attack. The group has not issued a formal statement.

CPJ documented a spike in attacks in February against journalists in Cairo and Suez. In December and November alone, CPJ documented 50 anti-press attacks during clashes between protestors and security forces in Egypt.

Egypt comedian still faces jail for insulting Islam

REUTERS

Court rejects suit accusing Egyptian star of insulting Islam

CAIRO | Thu Apr 26, 2012

 

(Reuters) - A lawsuit filed against Egyptian comic actor Adel Imam for insulting Islam was rejected by a court on Thursday, but he could still face a jail sentence for a conviction in a similar case, his lawyers said.

Earlier, the state-run newspaper al-Ahram incorrectly reported that the three-month sentence had been overturned on appeal.

Imam's lawyers, Nabil Moawad and Safwat Hussein, told Reuters he remained a free man pending the outcome of an appeal against that conviction, the result of a case filed by the same plaintiff.

The two lawsuits against Imam, whose presence in any movie or theatre cast virtually guarantees a box-office hit, were brought by Asran Mansour, a lawyer with ties to Islamist groups.

Mansour accused the actor of offending Islam and its symbols, including beards and the galabiya, a loose-fitting garment often worn by hardline Islamists.

Imam, 71, has poked fun at officials in his comedies and politicians of all colors during a 40-year career, although he was publicly criticized by many Egyptians for failing to back protests against former President Hosni Mubarak. Some films deal with the rise of Islamic militancy.

The jail sentence against Imam was issued a few weeks after Islamists swept most seats in a parliamentary vote.

Egypt's liberals, leftists and others are worried that Islamists who have emerged as the dominant political force in post-Mubarak Egypt will stifle social and cultural freedoms.

"ART IS NOT HERESY"

Hundreds of demonstrators gathered in front of the court on Thursday to support Imam. 

"We want freedom of creativity," and "No to prosecuting creative artists," chanted the crowd, which included directors, producers and actors.

Some carried banners saying "Art is not heresy."

"This is an unjust case against Imam and a stifling of freedom of expression," actress Jihan Fadel said. "If Imam's appeal is not accepted, this will pave the way for more obstacles in the path of all creative people in Egypt."

But some passers-by shouted "Jail Imam" and "Imam has always been the enemy of Islam." Arguments broke out between the actor's supporters and opponents.

Among films and plays targeted by the lawyer were the movie "Morgan Ahmed Morgan" and the play "Al-Zaeem" ("The Leader"), the report said.

Court cases against directors, actors, artists and intellectuals accused of failing to respect religious authority are relatively common in Egypt.

Magy Morgan, one of Imam's supporters, said outside the court: "The revolution was fought for freedom of expression and to see a case like this is a disgrace."

(Reporting by Shaimaa Fayed; Editing by Andrew Roche)

Egyptian lawyer in Saudi jail for criticizing king

Ahram Online

Egypt Ambassador to help free lawyer sentenced to 20 lashes in Saudi

Tuesday 24 Apr 2012

 

Foreign ministry spokesman reveals that the Egyptian ambassador to Saudi Arabia has received orders to press for the release of an Egyptian lawyer sentenced to 20 lashes for 'defaming' the Saudi king

Egypt's foreign ministry, according to spokesman Amr Rushdy, is following up with authorities in Saudi Arabia on the case of the Egyptian lawyer, Ahmed El-Gizawy, who is currently in Saudi custody facing one year in prison and 20 lashes.

"The foreign minister has ordered the Egyptian embassy in Riyadh and the consulate in Jeddah to follow up on the issue and free El-Gizawy," said Rushdy.

According to the foreign ministry spokesman, Egypt's foreign minister is following the issue from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where he is attending an emergency meeting on a possible war between Sudan and South Sudan.

Moreover, the Egyptian ambassador to Saudi Arabia has postponed his annual vacation to stay in Saudi Arabia to follow the issue.

Political activists were outraged as there was no official response on the issue until early Tuesday.
The Egyptian lawyer was sentenced in absentia for "defaming the [Saudi] king," King Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud.

El-Gizawy was arrested as he entered Saudi territory on 17 April for an omra (Islamic ritualp) pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.

The lawyer faced trouble with the law in the oil-rich kingdom after filing a suit in the South Cairo Court against King Abdullah on behalf of Egyptians detained in Saudi Arabia prisons without any court rulings.

El-Gizawy is to receive the 20 lashings on Friday.

Egypt: Free Expression Under Renewed Threat

Egypt Independent

In Egypt, setbacks on expression persist through legal avenues

Sun, 15/04/2012

Jano Charbel

Blows to freedom of expression have been ongoing in the year that lapsed since the 25 January revolution, causing observers to worry about the direction of an uprising that mainly called for the establishment of different liberties.

A common pre-revolutionary practice that still prevails now is that of using the legal system to curtail freedom of expression. The legal culture, the laws and the litigation processes have led to successful attacks on freedom of expression in the past.

Currently, remnants of the old regime, the ruling military council and Islamist lawyers are using the same tools.

On 26 February, Kamal Abbas, director of the Center for Trade Union and Workers’ Services, was sentenced in absentia to six months in prison for insulting Ismail Fahmy, a leading figure in the state-controlled Egyptian Trade Union Federation and a former member of Hosni Mubarak’s now-disbanded National Democratic Party.

Abbas received this sentence in light of comments he made on 9 June while attending a conference of the International Labor Organization in Geneva. Abbas reportedly interrupted Fahmy while he was delivering a speech to the conference. The labor activist criticized the trade union federation and its officials for representing the ruling regime, rather than workers.

At Helwan’s Court of Misdemeanors, defense lawyer and former manpower minister Ahmed Hassan al-Borai told Egypt Independent that “this lawsuit is a politicized case, not a legal case.” He said Mubarak regime members in the Egyptian Trade Union Federation were attempting to settle scores with Abbas for his activism in the field of independent trade unionism.

Borai added that such criticism does not constitute libel, slander or defamation, according to Egypt’s Penal Code, and moreover, “this alleged crime took place in Switzerland, not Egypt.” The lawyer said the case against Abbas should be thrown out, “as free speech is not criminalized in Switzerland.”

This is an attack on freedom of expression and on the free labor union movement, Borai concluded.

“In general, freedom of expression has been under attack since the revolution,” he said, “yet each lawsuit is different and has its own specific background.”

Another prevalent practice that predates the revolution is that third parties raise cases against individuals, threatening their freedom of expression on the basis that they harm religious values. This practice was commonly pursued against artists and writers.

Egypt’s top comedian, Adel Imam, was sentenced in February to three months imprisonment on charges of “defaming religion” in his movies.

An Islamist lawyer, Asran Mansour, had filed a lawsuit against Imam claiming that his movies portray a "contempt of religion," a charge criminalized under Article 98(F) of the Penal Code.

Similarly, Naguib Sawiris, the Christian billionaire-turned-liberal political sponsor, came under fire in June when he posted on Twitter an image of a bearded Mickey Mouse with Minnie Mouse donning a full face veil. Sawiris came under fierce criticism for his tweet and was accused of “defaming Islam and its symbols.”

Although Sawiris posted an official apology, Islamist MP Mamdouh Ismail filed a lawsuit against him, claiming he had openly displayed contempt of religion. Earlier this month, the Abul Ela Court of Misdemeanors threw out the charges leveled against Sawiris.

Political bloggers, who have commonly been legally penalized for their online publishing before the revolution, haven’t been spared afterwards.

Maikel Nabil is a case in point. On 10 April 2011, a military court sentenced Nabil to three years in prison on charges of “insulting the military” in his blog post titled “The army and the people were never one hand.” 

The blogger went on hunger strike in his prison cell and demands for his release grew steadily. Two days prior to the anniversary of the 25 January revolution, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces pardoned him.

Emad Mubarak, executive director of the Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression, said that “freedom of expression has definitely increased since revolution but is still facing numerous obstacles and threats.”

“In the past, people were afraid to speak or express their opinions, while journalists couldn’t discuss anything pertaining to the military institution,” he said. “Now people are talking freely and journalists are openly criticizing the military junta,” he said.

But setbacks are represented by the ruling military council’s several attacks on freedom of expression as manifest in bloggers’ detentions, journalists’ interrogations and the attempt to legalize a ban on protests, Mubarak said.

“This transitional stage is hazy and the future is not yet clear. We’ll wait and see where this transfer of authority goes,” said Mubarak. The election of a president and the conclusion of this interim period “will help us understand the trajectory of the revolution, and then we will be able to assess the future of freedom of expression.”

Mubarak added that the Islamist ascent can also be conducive to limiting freedom of expression.

“Old laws that allow for violations of the right to freedom of expression are still in use, while new laws are being discussed and drafted. Yet many of these drafts are not promising. A number of the draft laws proposed by the Islamist MPs are worrisome and disturbing,” Mubarak said.

“If issued, these conservative laws will threaten not only freedom of expression, but also freedom of assembly and association, along with other liberties,” he added.

 

*Photograph by Amr Abdalla