Archive for Mortada Mansour

Court refuses to release former Radio and Television Union head

by admin
December 20th, 2012

The Cairo Criminal Court (CCC) ruled on Thursday not to release former Radio and Television Union head Osama al-Sheikh from prison, despite the Court of Cassation’s decision to reverse the verdict finding him guilty of squandering public funds. The CCC advised that Sheikh be retried before another court.

Sheikh appeared before the court wearing a blue prison uniform and walking with a crutch. When he left, his relatives made victory signs.

Sheikh’s defense team includes a number of prominent lawyers, including Nabieh al-Wahsh and Mortada Mansour.

The defense claimed there was no justification for Sheikh's detention and that he was in poor health. Furthermore, the defense argued that Sheikh did not pose a flight risk as he had a fixed and known place of residence and there is a travel ban in place preventing him from leaving the country.

Defense lawyers also cited Article 151 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which states: “The length of police custody in the first stage of investigation shall not exceed one third of the sentence.”

Sheikh has now been in prison for 22 months, which constitutions a violation of that article, Mansour argued.

The lawyer also claimed that his client had declined the opportunity to earn millions of dollars to work abroad so that he could remain in Egypt and serve his country. Sheikh had previously been found guilty of squandering public funds by granting contracts to air football games and TV serials without getting approval from the necessary pricing and regulation boards. Mansour argued that the defendant had granted those contracts to make the Egyptian people happy.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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Sorour released from custody after Battle of the Camel acquittal

by admin
October 12th, 2012

 

Former People’s Assembly speaker Fathi Sorour was released from custody Friday morning following his acquittal on Wednesday in the Battle of the Camel case.

Sorour left the Cairo Security Directorate headquarters through a back gate, accompanied by his son.

He stood trial alongside 23 other defendants on charges of being responsible for the killing of protesters on 2 and 3 February last year in the Battle of the Camel.

A total of 24 defendants, all senior officials of the former regime, were acquitted, including businessman and former leading National Democratic Party member Ibrahim Kamel; former Manpower and Immigration Minister Aisha Abdel Hady; lawyer and former MP Mortada Mansour; and former head of the Egyptian Trade Union Federation, Hussein Megawer.

The court said it acquitted all the defendants because the witness testimonies were based on hearsay and grudges against the defendants over parliamentary elections, Al-Masry Al-Youm reported.

The court was not comfortable with the testimonies, it said, except that of Major General Hassan al-Ruwainy, the former commander of the central military zone, who said there were no dead bodies or weapons found on location the day of the battle.

According to Al-Masry Al-Youm, the court found the evidence insufficient to convict the accused, and pointed out that there was a prosecution witnesses against the defendants who had been imprisoned before on charges of perjury.

Sorour, one of the linchpins of the regime of ousted President Hosni Mubarak, served as the speaker of People’s Assembly. Observers say that he tended to pass laws serving Mubarak regime’s during his tenure as the head of the legislative body.

He still faces prosecution on charges of illicit gains.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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Update: Camel Battle defendants acquitted

by admin
October 10th, 2012

All 24 defendants in the "Battle of the Camel" case have been acquitted of killing protesters, state-owned Nile News channel reported Wednesday.

The trial, which began last year, included members of the disbanded National Democratic Party, businessmen and former lawmakers. Among those on trial were former Shura Council Speaker Safwat al-Sherif, former People’s Assembly Speaker Fathi Sorour, and ceramics tycoon Mohamed Abul Enein.

A total of 24 defendants, all senior officials of the former regime,were acquitted. Businessman and former leading NDP member Ibrahim Kamel, former Manpower and Immigration Minister Aisha Abdel Hady, former MP Mortada Mansour, and Hussein Megawer, former head of the Egyptian Trade Union Federation, were also charged in the case.

The defendants in the case were accused of involvement in killing protesters on 2 and 3 February last year during the uprising that ousted President Hosni Mubarak.

On 2 February, peaceful pro-democracy demonstrators were attacked by assailants in Tahrir Square, some of whom rode horses and camels. At least 11 protesters were killed and hundreds were injured.

A judicial source told the state-run MENA news agency that Attorney General Abdel Meguid Mahmoud is studying the rationale of the verdict.

The source said that the public prosecutor did not investigate that case in the first place, and that investigation was carried out by judges assigned from Cairo Court of Appeal.

For its part, the Revolutionary Socialists Movement said a Friday demonstration would be the best response to the verdict, which it called a “farce." “It was a political judgment,” said movement spokesman Hisham Fouad. “It has nothing to do with the independence of the judiciary.”

“It is but another episode of the series of acquittals the former regime officials obtained,” he added in a statement. “All political forces and civil society organizations will reject this.”

Presidential adviser Seif Abdel Fattah said the evidence brought to the court was insufficient. “A judge bases his judgment on facts and not on his personal premonition,” he told the state-run al-Ahram newspaper.
 
Abdel Fattah added that the president is committed to his pledge to hold re-trials for the killers of the 25 January revolution martyrs.

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Camel Battle defendants acquitted

by admin
October 10th, 2012

All 24 defendants in the "Battle of the Camel" case have been acquitted of killing protesters, state-owned Nile News channel reported Wednesday.

The trial, which began last year, included members of the disbanded National Democratic Party, businessmen and former lawmakers. Among those on trial were former Shura Council Speaker Safwat al-Sherif, former People’s Assembly Speaker Fathi Sorour, and ceramics tycoon Mohamed Abul Enein.

Businessman and former leading NDP member Ibrahim Kamel, former Manpower and Immigration Minister Aisha Abdel Hady, former MP Mortada Mansour, and Hussein Megawer, former head of the Egyptian Trade Union Federation, were also charged in the case.

The defendants in the case were accused of involvement in killing protesters on 2 and 3 February last year during the uprising that ousted President Hosni Mubarak.

On 2 February, peaceful pro-democracy demonstrators were attacked by assailants in Tahrir Square, some of whom rode horses and camels. At least 11 protesters were killed and hundreds were injured.

 

 

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Defendents accuse Mansour of "manipulation" in Battle of the Camel trial

by admin
May 13th, 2012

 

During a chaotic session of the trial of 24 figures accused of plotting an attack on protesters during the 18-day uprising last year, defendants Saturday broke out in scuffles and said that the court was not acting impartial.

The court was forced to adjourn more than once due to noise in the court room, with yells of "leave,leave," breaking out directed at Mortada Mansour's defense team. Mansour was not in attendance, he sent a signed statement saying that the Ministry of Justice had allowed for his absence.

Ragia Atiya, Mansour's lawyer, said the court had not proved the validity of much of its evidence, and asked for the judges to removed.Other defendents, held in the cage in the court, said that Mansour was "playing with them and dragging his feet," to ensure the trial ends in his favor.

South Cairo Criminal Court, which is considering the case known as “Battle of the Camel,” decided in April to summon Mansour, a defendant in the case, in addition to his son, Ahmed, and his nephew, Wahid Salah Gomaa.

Twenty-four defendants are accused in the case, including Ahmed Fathi Sorour, former speaker of the People’s Assembly, Safwat al-Sherif, former speaker of the Shura Council, Aisha Abdel Hady, former minister of manpower, and Hussein Megawer, former president of the Trade Union Federation.

All are facing charges of inciting the killing of peaceful protesters in Tahrir Square on 2 and 3 February 2011 during the demonstrations that forced former President Hosni Mubarak to step down.

Mortada Mansour's lawyer also accused the court of partiality, saying "the bench is so far from being impartial we are demanding that they be removed."

edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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Sunday’s papers: Egypt’s political scene at boiling point

by admin
April 15th, 2012

Sunday’s papers focus on how the tension continues to escalate for the presidential election slated to take place on 23 and 24 May.

State-run newspaper Al-Akhbar publishes the names of the 10 presidential hopefuls who the Presidential Elections Commission excluded from the race late Saturday for failing to fulfill the required conditions for running.

Those excluded include some prominent figures who have lately provoked heated debates over their validity to run for Egypt’s top office, including former vice president and intelligence chief Omar Suleiman, Salafi preacher Hazem Salah Abu Ismail, Muslim Brotherhood leader Khairat al-Shater, lawyer Mortada Mansour and Ghad al-Thawra Party head Ayman Nour.

In response to the unexpected announcement on the disqualified candidates, Freedom and Justice newspaper, the mouthpiece of the Muslim Brotherhood’s political party of the same name, quotes Shater in its top headline sharply criticizing the decision and describing it as a “conspiracy” to allow remnants of the old regime to win the race.

In a conference held in the lower-class neighborhood of Mataria, Shater emphasized that though he and Abu Ismail are struck off the electoral roll, they “will continue to strive in the legal battle … so the old regime does not steal the revolution.”

The Presidential Elections Commission’s statement said the disqualified candidates have the right to appeal the decision within 48 hours.

Daily independent Al-Shorouk states that Abu Ismail released a press statement that insists the documents issued by the US, which allegedly prove that his mother, Nawal Abdel Aziz Nour, was an American citizen, are forged and do not have official signatures or stapes.

The accusations of the dual nationality of Abu Ismail’s mother threaten his chance to enter the presidential race, because a law issued after former President Hosni Mubarak’s ouster states that presidential candidates must have Egyptian nationality only, and their parents and spouses should not hold any other citizenship other than Egyptian.

Al-Wafd, a partisan daily, leads with the headline about the army protecting the presidential commission, along with a photo of military forces standing in front of its headquarters to guard the gates.

It reports that heavy security measures were taken as more than 3,000 of Abu Ismail’s supporters blocked Arouba Street for hours in protest of barring the Salafi candidate from running.

Last Friday, according to the report, Abu Ismail’s loyalists tried to storm the headquarters building, forcing the members of the committee to evacuate the office and suspend their work.

The news of declaring Mortada Mansour as fugitive is another story making headlines in Thursday’s papers.      

Al-Shorouk publishes a story that military forces, which surrounded Mansour’s home Saturday morning, failed to arrest him for his absence in the last three court hearings of the so-called “Battle of the Camel” case.

Mansour — along with his son and his nephew, who managed to flee — were accused of being involved in conspiring to kill protesters on 2 February during the uprising last year.

Reporting on the same news, independent paper Al-Dostour quotes a security source as saying that Mansour is hiding in the apartment of his daughter’s husband,counselor Hesham al-Rafaei, whose legal immunity prohibits police from breaking into his home.

After the withdrawal of a considerable number of Constituent Assembly members, including representatives from Al-Azhar, the Coptic Orthodox Church and the Supreme Constitutional Court, the Muslim Brotherhood and ultraconservative Nour Party are considering whether to cut down the participation of MPs to 40 percent.

Independent Youm7 writes that Islamist movements are planning to meet with political parties in the upcoming days to reach common ground on appointing new members who represent all segments of society.

During the past few weeks, political forces have called for dissolving the whole body and restructuring it after coming out empty-handed from negotiations with Islamists.

Egypt’s papers:

Al-Ahram: Daily, state-run, largest distribution in Egypt

Al-Akhbar: Daily, state-run, second to Al-Ahram in institutional size

Al-Gomhurriya: Daily, state-run

Rose al-Youssef: Daily, state-run

Al-Dostour: Daily, privately owned

Al-Shorouk: Daily, privately owned

Al-Wafd: Daily, published by the liberal Wafd Party

Youm7: Daily, privately owned

Al-Tahrir: Daily, privately owned

Freedom and Justice: Daily, published by the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party

Sawt al-Umma: Weekly, privately owned

Al-Arabi: Weekly, published by the Nasserist Party

Al-Nour: Official paper of the Salafi Nour Party

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High Elections Commission excludes 10 candidates from presidential race

by admin
April 14th, 2012

The High Elections Commission disqualified 10 candidates from the presidential race, it announced on Saturday evening. The commission said it would release the full list of qualified candidates at a later time.

Independent newpsper Al-Shorouk published on its website what it said was a leaked complete list of disqualified candidates. It reported that conservative candidate Hazem Salah Abu Ismail, former vice president and intelligence chief Omar Suleiman, and official Muslim Brotherhood candidate Khairat al-Shater, Ghad al-Thawra Party head Ayman Nour had all been disqualified. Also out of the running, it reported, were Ahmed Saidi, Mamdouh Qutb, Ashraf Baroma, and Ibrahim al-Ghareeb.

Meanwhile, Al-Masry Al-Youm quoted judicial sources as saying  “The most prominent names that have been excluded are Sheikh Hazem Salah Abu Ismail, General Omar Suleiman, former vice president," in addition to Shater.

Suleiman was reportedly excluded on the basis of the geographical distribution of his signatures of support, according to Al-Masry Al-Youm.

Candidates Mortada Mansour and Ahmed Awad Al-Saidi  are also out of the race, according to the sources.

The disqualified candidates will have two days to appeal the decision, according to the reports.

The presidential race has grown increasingly complicated and heated in the past weeks as a series of surprise candidates have emerged and other candidates' eligibility has been called into question.

Egypt's presidential elections are slated for the 23 and 24 of May.

If the court's decision stands, the remaining frontrunners will be former Arab League head Amr Moussa and former Muslim Brotherhood member Abdul Moneim Abouel Fotouh.

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Mortada Mansour supporters, opponents clash over his arrest

by admin
April 14th, 2012

Clashes erupted Saturday between supporters of presidential hopeful Mortada Mansour and those who oppose his candidacy, after security forces stormed his home in the Mohandiseen neighborhood.

Central security forces were planning on arresting Mansour on charges that he helped plot the “Battle of the Camel,” but they did not find him at home.

“The Battle of the Camel,” largely seen as a turning point in the protest movement that led to Mubarak’s departure, refers to an attack by men riding horses and camels on protesters in Tahrir square.

Security source told al-Masry al-Youm that Mansour was hiding out in the apartment of his son-in-law, Judge Hisham el-Refai.

Medical source told al-Masry al-Youm that three were injured in the clashes between Mansour supporters and citizens demanding his arrest.

Middle East News Agency (MENA) reported that both sides hurled stones, and security forces intervened to separate them and stop the clashes.

South Cairo Criminal Court, which is considering the case known as “Battle of the Camel,” decided on Wednesday to summon Mansour, a defendant in the case, in addition to his son, Ahmed, and his nephew, Wahid Salah Gomaa.

Twenty-four defendants are accused in the case, including Ahmed Fathi Sorour, former speaker of the People’s Assembly, Safwat al-Sherif, former speaker of the Shura Council, Aisha Abdel Hady, former minister of manpower, and Hussein Megawer, former president of the Trade Union Federation.

All are facing charges of inciting the killing of peaceful protesters in Tahrir Square on 2 and 3 February 2011 during the demonstrations that forced former President Hosni Mubarak to step down.

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Battle of the Camel trial adjourned to 12 May

by admin
April 12th, 2012

The trial of suspects accused of inciting the killing of peaceful protesters on 2 and 3 February last year during events known as the “Battle of the Camel” was postponed to 12 May to examine evidence.

One of the prosecuting witnesses gave a testimony that would exonerate rather than indict suspects Ragab Helal Hemeida and Talaat al-Qawwas, both former MPs.

Twenty-four defendants are accused in the case, including Fathi Sorour, former People’s Assembly speaker; Safwat al-Sherif, former Shura Council speaker; Aisha Abdel Hady, former manpower minister; and Hussein Megawer, former Egyptian Trade Union Federation president.

All face charges of inciting the killing of peaceful protesters in Tahrir Square during the demonstrations that forced former President Hosni Mubarak to step down.

All suspects were present for the trial except Mortada Mansour, his son Ahmed and his nephew Waheed, even though a court ordered them to be summoned for the session. None of their defense lawyers were present either.

Mansour ­ — who had requested that the judge be replaced, which the court will consider on 14 April — did not show up for the last three court sessions. He applied Sunday to run in the presidential elections.

The court heard the testimony of Ali Abdel Gaber, a retired government employee who said he lives in the Cairo district of Abdeen. Abdel Gaber said he had asked the suspects, who were MPs for the same district, to help him and his brother get jobs but that they did not help.

He said he used to join the protests in Tahrir from morning until night. He said he saw Qawwas in Tahrir on 2 February and that he was not surrounded by protesters or supporters. He did not see Hemeida that day.

Asked if he saw the camel riders who stormed into Tahrir, Abdel Gaber said he was standing at the entry to Qasr al-Nil Street and saw them coming from the direction of Mohamed Mahmoud Street and Tahrir. He said there were around 70-100 thugs and that some of them carried clubs, knives, chains and other weapons. They hit the protesters in their legs with swords, he added.

The judge interrupted Abdel Gaber to ask if a camel rider who is high above the ground could have hit protesters walking on foot. The witness corrected himself, saying the camel riders hit protesters on their backs.

One of the plaintiffs’ lawyers accused the witness of perjury, saying his testimony was different from the one he gave during investigations.

Translated from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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Court summons presidential candidate implicated in ‘Battle of the Camel’

by admin
April 11th, 2012

After a hiatus of five months, the South Cairo Criminal Court, which is considering the case known as “Battle of the Camel,” decided on Wednesday to summon presidential candidate Mortada Mansour, a defendant in the case, his son, Ahmed, and his nephew, Wahid Salah Gomaa.

The court also decided to adjourn until Thursday to hear the testimonies of the prosecution witnesses.

Twenty-four defendants are accused in the case, including Ahmed Fathi Sorour, former speaker of the People’s Assembly; Safwat al-Sherif, former speaker of the Shura Council; Aisha Abdel Hady, former minister of manpower; and Hussein Megawer, former president of the Trade Union Federation, all of whom are facing charges of inciting the killing of peaceful protesters in Tahrir Square on 2 and 3 February 2011 during the demonstrations that forced former President Hosni Mubarak to step down.

The demonstrators were attacked by men riding a camel and horses, hence the name of the case.

Mansour, who had requested that the judge be replaced, which the court would consider on 14 April, did not show up to the last three court sessions, while his son and nephew are being tried in absentia. He had applied to run in the presidential elections on Sunday.

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