Archive for President Hosni Mubarak

Wednesday’s papers: Mubarak watched protester killings, alleges fact-finding committee

by admin
January 2nd, 2013

"Mubarak saw the killing of the protesters during the revolution," privately owned daily Al-Shorouk leads Wednesday's coverage.

The attention-grabbing headline is followed with a report that former President Hosni Mubarak was aware of the events happening in Tahrir Square during the 2011 revolution and monitored everything via an encoded channel, according to a fact-finding committee formed by President Mohamed Morsy. The channel was allegedly set up by then-Information Minister Anas al-Fiqqi, who reportedly still has a copy of the footage. Committee member Mohsen Bahnassy says the panel is scheduled to meet with Morsy to discuss its findings Wednesday.

The committee also reveals other allegations, including former Interior Minister Habib al-Adly's claim that American embassy cars were used in illegal missions during the revolution and that certain documents issued by the ministry contain the names of all officers appointed in Tahrir and other main squares during the 2011 protests, Al-Shorouk reports.  

The committee's Secretary General Omar Marwan also purportedly told the paper that the names of the real criminals behind protester deaths have been revealed and confirmed that "foreign entities" were involved. Marwan says the final draft of the committee's report will contain many surprises condemning prominent political and foreign leaders.

Government newspapers on the other hand, focus this morning on controversial new protest legislation. Al-Akhbar reports that Justice Minister Ahmed Mekky has confirmed a new bill regulating demonstrations is in the making.

Several lawmakers and government officials had previously denied the government is in talks over a draft law leaked earlier this week to newspapers that would severely restrict protests. But Mekky reportedly says that every right in the world has some restrictions. The legislation, according to the minister, may ban protests in houses of worship and allocate certain other areas for demonstrations. He also confirmed a previously reported restriction that protest organizers would have to inform authorities in advance of the time and location of their demonstration.

Freedom and Justice highlights the country's currency issues in the unconventional headline "Egyptian expats are real men." The party mouthpiece raves about the bank transfers from abroad as part of a "transfer dollars to Egypt" initiative that follows a new currency regime announced by the Central Bank Saturday and the subsequent devaluation of the pound.

The paper reports US$162 million has arrived via a Swiss plane from Zurich for Misr Bank and National Bank of Egypt and a renowned Saudi businessman deposited US$2 billion in his Egyptian account. The newspaper added that National Bank of Egypt has simplified the process of opening an account in dollars for locals and Egyptian expatriates, especially those in Saudi Arabia.      

The arrest of suspect Islam Ashraf in the shooting of April 6 Youth Activist Mohannad Samir makes headlines in the liberal party paper Al-Wafd. The 29-year-old was arrested in a restaurant downtown and allegedly admitted to shooting at protesters Monday when they refused to let him enter Tahrir Square by car, according to a police source. Demonstrating the confusion surrounding the case, Al-Akhbar says Ashraf is the owner of a café and restaurant in downtown and was arrested in a nearby cabaret. Other accounts have reported that Ashraf denied the allegations against him.

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-Watan: Daily, privately owned

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

Youm7: Daily, privately owned

Al-Tahrir: Daily, privately owned

Al-Sabah: 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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PM: Egyptian pound to improve against dollar over next period

by admin
January 1st, 2013

The Egyptian pound will improve its standing against the US dollar after being encouraged by political and economic stability over the coming period, Prime Minister Hesham Qandil said Tuesday.

The Egyptian currency had made a record drop earlier this week against the US dollar amid rising political turmoil, and as the Central Bank of Egypt adopted a new mechanism that seeks to maintain foreign reserves, which have also hit a record low.

“Soon, we will see the US dollar falling to the Egyptian pound,” Qandil told reporters.

A dollar currently sells for LE6.37. The drop means the CBE has allowed the local currency to decrease by nearly 3 percent over the past two days, having spent more than half of foreign reserves to support the currency since a popular uprising deposed former president Hosni Mubarak two years ago.

“The Central Bank is, indeed, responsible for the exchange market, and the government does not intervene in its works. The deteriorating situation over the past period has helped stabilize the rate of exchange,” the prime minister said.

Egypt’s foreign reserves sagged by US448 billion in November to nearly 15 billion, in what the Central Bank described as a critical drop.

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Categories Egypt, Egypt Top Stories
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Sunday’s papers: Morsy speaks, again

by admin
December 30th, 2012

President Morsy’s latest address to the nation—at Saturday’s opening session of the Shura Council’s new cycle—provoked a few sarcastic headlines in Sunday’s papers.

Independent daily Al-Sabah observes that “Morsi speaks about the Egypt he imagines,” criticizing the president’s speech as overly optimistic and writing that the new president is following toppled President Hosni Mubarak’s path by ignoring clear problems in the country.

In his address, published in state-run Al-Ahram, Morsy announced that the passing of the new Constitution has ended the long transition period and initiated a new era of equality and prosperity.  He repeated his invitation to political parties and opposition to join a national dialogue.

Morsy’s description of the economic situation received the most criticism. The president attacked those who claim that Egypt is heading towards bankruptcy and detailed the different sectors in which Egypt’s economy has improved.

Opposition newspaper Al-Tahrir headlined with a critical description of the scene of the nationally televised speech, contrasting the elaborate preparations to the unimpressive content speech and calling Morsy “Mubarak’s identical copy”:

“A 30-car motorcade, trees to welcome his highness at the parliament, evacuation of the Ministry of Health building…removing graffiti that demands justice, and a weak speech.”

The paper’s chief editor Ibrahim Eissa wrote that the address was “ boring, repetitive, (and) separate from reality.”

News also looms of an expected cabinet reshuffle.

Privately-owned Al-Shorouk reports the cabinet reshuffle will take place within two days. It cites government sources saying that the Freedom and Justice Party is pressuring the government to replace some ministers who are not aligned with the Muslim Brotherhood.

Ayman Al Sayad, a former adviser to Morsy who recently resigned, wrote an address of his own to the President in Al-Shorouk. El Sayed is one of at least seven top advisers to the president who have resigned over the past month.

Al Sayad argues that the advisory group on which he served failed in its main task, which was to bridge the gap between the president’s supporters and the Brotherhood on one hand and the rest of the country on the other.

Al Sayad reproached the President for addressing “his people” rather than the nation. He also criticized the use of religion by the president’s supporters and wrote that the last straw came when the president’s aides, including himself, failed to convince the Brotherhood to refrain from sending its youth to attack a sit-in at the presidential palace earlier this month which led to deadly clashes.

“Mr. President, I walk away maintaining cordiality and respect to you and other friends in your group but I cannot be a hypocrite and unfortunately I now feel that staying close to you entails hypocrisy and deception to myself and others,” he concluded.

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-Watan: Daily, privately owned

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

Youm7: Daily, privately owned

Al-Tahrir: Daily, privately owned

Al-Sabah: 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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Categories Local Press
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Mubarak fighting death, sources tell state TV

by admin
December 30th, 2012

Former President Hosni Mubarak is fighting death in the Maadi military hospital, sources close to Mubarak’s family told state TV on Sunday.

On order from the public prosecutor, Mubarak was transferred to the military hospital on Thursday after falling and injuring himself in his Tora Prison bathroom.

According to the independent Al-Dostour newspaper, Prosecutor Talaat Abdullah approved a request by Mubarak’s lawyer Fareed al-Deeb to visit him in the hospital.

Abdullah is considering another request from Mubarak’s lawyers that would allow a medical team to remain with Mubarak in the hospital.

The 84-year-old former president’s health has deteriorated sharply several times since he was sentenced to life in prison in June for the killing of protesters during the 2011 revolution. 

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Categories Egypt, Egypt Top Stories
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National Salvation Front: Brotherhood is terrorizing opposition

by admin
December 28th, 2012

Hussein Abdel Ghany, the media spokesperson for the National Salvation Front, accused the Muslim Brotherhood of resorting to Mubarak-era tactics to discredit the opposition.

Front leaders Mohamed ElBaradei, Hamdeen Sabbahi and Amr Moussa are under investigation on charges of treason as per the instructions of the Brotherhood’s guidance bureau, Abdel Ghany said, claiming that this indicated a narrow understanding of democracy.

“Repeated attempts to discredit the opposition is a Mubarak-style method to terrorize political opponents,” he told Al-Masry Al-Youm.

Such charges won’t terrorize the opposition or stop them from peacefully fighting against the Brotherhood dictatorship and tyranny under the name of religion, Abdel Ghany continued.

"I say to the leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood: Do not follow the same methods of the former regime … The Salvation Front will support peaceful protests and will not back down on battles against tyranny," he said.

Prosecutor General Talaat Abdallah agreed to assign a judge to investigate allegations of treason levied against the members of the front.

Al-Sayed Hamed, a member of the executive bureau of the Lawyers Syndicate’s Freedoms Committee, filed the charges along with his colleague, Nasser al-Asqalany.

The National Salvation Front is a coalition of 15 liberal parties opposed to the recently instated Constitution. Its members claim the constitutional referendum was rigged. Prior to the referendum, the front led demonstrations against the Constitution in front of the presidential palace. At least 10 died in the course of clashes with supporters of President Mohamed Morsy.

Hamed is also bringing charges of treason against former presidential candidate Ahmed Shafiq, Dubai police chief Dahi Khalfan, Judges Club head Ahmed al-Zend and Supreme Constitutional Court Vice President Tahani al-Gebali.

Filing criminal charges against opposition figures was a common practice during former President Hosni Mubarak’s era.

Ghad al-Thawra Party leader Ayman Nour was sentenced to five years in prison in December 2005 for allegedly forging signatures to enable him to register the Ghad Party. The party had been approved in 2004. Nour was released from prison in February 2009.

Nour finished second after Mubarak in the presidential election in September 2005. Some observers argued that the case was punishment for his unexpected bid for presidency.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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Top prosecutor approves Mubarak’s transfer for more medical tests

by admin
December 27th, 2012

The prosecutor general ordered former President Hosni Mubarak sent to Maadi Military Hospital for tests to determine whether he should be treated in a hospital outside Tora prison.

A medical committee formed by Prosecutor General Talaat Abdallah examined Mubarak at Tora Prison Hospital Tuesday after the former leader fell in a bathroom there last week. The committee is tasked with submitting a report on Mubarak's condition to help Abdallah determine whether he requires more advanced medical care than the prison hospital can provide.  

Mubarak is serving a 25-year sentence for failing to prevent the killing of revolution protesters.

After his fall, Mubarak was taken to the military hospital for tests and a scan showed he had cracked ribs and fluid in his lungs, according to officials.

Doctors monitoring his condition have said he receives periodic follow-up from prison doctors and does not need surgery.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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Medical team checks on Mubarak at Tora Prison

by admin
December 25th, 2012

A medical panel tasked by Prosecutor General Talaat Abdallah to check on the health of former President Hosni Mubarak arrived at Tora Prison Tuesday, where Mubarak is serving a life sentence for failing to prevent the deaths of protesters during the 18-day uprising. 



Assistant Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim said the panel will prepare a report on Mubarak’s condition. The former leader underwent testing at Maadi Military Hospital last week after falling in the prison’s bathroom. Doctors have said Mubarak sustained a crack in his chest as a result of the fall.



Ibrahim said the report will be submitted to the prosecutor general, who will decide either to keep Mubarak in prison or to transfer him to another hospital.



His doctors, meanwhile, stress that the former president’s health has stabilized and does not require a surgical intervention.



Security sources said Mubarak’s son, Gamal, attended the medical test on his father and stressed his need for care at another hospital.



Mubarak’s lawyer, Farid al-Deeb, had requested that his client be transferred to a hospital outside prison after he repeatedly fell inside the prison’s bathroom.



Mubarak was sentenced to 25 years imprisonment in June for failing to prevent the deaths of protesters during the 25 January revolution that ended his 30-year rule.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
 

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Spanish court cancels ٍHussein Salem extradition

by admin
December 24th, 2012

Spain’s Constitutional Court decided Monday to cancel an earlier verdict ordering the extradition of fugitive businessman Hussein Salem to Egypt, accepting his appeal to the verdict.

Salem, a close ally to deposed President Hosni Mubarak, fled to Spain in February 2011 during the January uprising that toppled Mubarak.

In June, Salem, along with Mubarak, was acquitted of corruption in relation to Egypt’s natural gas export deal with Israel. He was, however, sentenced to 15 years imprisonment in March for a corrupt land deal.

In his appeal, Salem said he carries Spanish citizenship and argued that charges of money laundering, posed by Egyptian authorities against him, have all been politicized. He demanded that the Spanish court consider the “revolutionary situation in Egypt…and the judicial turbulence.”

The same court had struck down verdicts to hand over Salem’s son Khaled and his daughter Magda to Egypt.

The court’s decisions are final and unchallengeable before any other judicial body.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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Journalists hold silent protest against attacks on press freedom

by admin
December 23rd, 2012

Dozens of journalists held a silent protest at the headquarters of the Journalists Syndicate Sunday to protest repressive media censorship policies and the killing of a colleague at a protest earlier this month.

The journalists, from various independent newspapers such as Al-Wafd, Al-Dostour and Al-Fagr, wore masks and wielded pens and cameras to protest what they decry as government attacks on freedom of journalism and expression.

Protesters raised banners reading: “No to handcuffing the media and journalism,” “No to a constitution that suppresses the freedoms of media and journalism,” “No to attacking newspapers’ headquarters,” and “Down with the Shura Council,” in reference to the body’s control over selecting the heads of state-owned newspapers.

They also mourned Al-Fagr photojournalist Al-Husseini Abu Deif, who was killed at a protest outside the presidential palace on 5 December.

Gamal Fahmy, deputy chief of the Journalists Syndicate; Alaa al-Attar, editor-in-chief of the Al-Ahram website; and Yehia Qallash, head of the committee in defense of freedoms, took part in the protest, which aimed to pressure the ruling regime to stop harassing journalists.

Since being elected president, Mohamed Morsy has attacked the media in general, accusing it of serving the ousted regime of former President Hosni Mubarak. Dozens of journalists have been summoned to trial in recent months for expressing critical views of Morsy.

Last August, Morsy issued a decree to prohibit the pre-trial detention of journalists accused of “publishing offenses,” after a court remanded into custody a newspaper editor standing trial for defaming the president.

But critics say that the detention of journalists is still possible following any convictions in these “publishing offenses” trials. And since the incident, the president’s office has continued to file complaints against journalists and other public figures expressing critical views of Morsy.

This month, the president’s office reportedly complained about psychiatrist Manal Omar, who critically analyzed Morsy’s character on television.

The complaints against journalists have not only come from the president’s office, with Islamist activists bringing charges of their own.

On Sunday, Public Prosecutor Talaat Abdallah ordered an investigation into charges brought by former Salafi MP Mamdouh Ismail saying that Ibrahim Eissa, a prominent newspaper editor and television presenter, committed religious blasphemy and threatened national unity on his TV show. In his charge, Ismail said Eissa mocked verses of the Quran and spoke ill of the president.

Essam Sultan, vice president of the Wasat Party, demanded on Facebook Sunday that President Mohamed Morsy waive all charges against journalists.

He also called on the Shura Council to reduce the punishment for anyone convicted of insulting the Egyptian president to a fine, instead of the current penalty of imprisonment.

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Prosecution to reinvestigate Battle of the Camel murders

by admin
December 23rd, 2012

Central Cairo’s prosecution office decided on Sunday to reinvestigate the killing of protesters in the incident widely known as the Battle of the Camel, a judicial source told Al-Masry Al-Youm.

On 2 February 2011, amid the widespread protests of the 18-day uprising against former President Hosni Mubarak, prosecutors say 24 senior officials of the former Mubarak regime sent armed men on horseback and camels to attack anti-government protesters. During the attack, at least 11 protesters were killed and hundreds injured.

But after a trial that lasted over a year, a court acquitted all of the defendants last October.

The judicial source added that the investigations were reopened after prosecutors received new complaints related to the case.

One of the complaints was filed by attorney Mohamed Mowafy, who alleged new evidence implicating Mubarak, his wife Suzanne, former Manpower and Immigration Minister Aisha Abdel Hady, and former head of the state-dominated Egyptian Trade Union Federation, Hussein Megawer.

Abdel Hady and Megawer were among the former officials acquitted in the Battle of the Camel trial.

The move to reinvestigate the case doesn’t automatically mean a new trial will be held. The prosecution will first have to decide whether to send the entire case to criminal court.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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