Archive for Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq

Lawsuit against Tawfiq Okasha adjourned to 20 October

by admin
October 13th, 2012

 

The Administrative Court adjourned on Saturday the lawsuit seeking to ban Tawfiq Okasha from appearing on his show until 20 October.

President Mohamed Morsy has filed a lawsuit last May before the run-off round of the presidential elections, in which he competed against former Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq.

He asked the administrative court to cancel a previous government decision allowing the program Egypt Today to air and to prevent Okasha from appearing on the channel.

The lawsuit claims that Okasha exploits media to influence the electoral process, direct voters to choose a particular candidate, and commit acts punishable by law, as well as accusing him of violating the media codes of ethics.

Morsy was officially announced president on 24 June, and was inaugurated at the end of the month as the first elected president of the country after the overthrow of former President Hosni Mubarak.

Okasha, who is known for his harsh criticism of the Muslim Brotherhood and its political rise since the 25 January revolution, said weeks after Morsy’s victory that his presence in the presidential palace is illegal.

His Al-Faraeen channel was suspended on 16 August, with authorities threatening to revoke the channel’s license if it did not make programming changes.

Okasha also faces criminal charges in another trial of defaming and attempting to incite the killing of Morsy. The criminal trial will be resumed 7 November.

 

 

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Okasha sentence hearing set for 13 October

by admin
September 4th, 2012

 

The Administrative Court has set 13 October as the date for a sentencing hearing for media personality Tawfiq Okasha.

A lawsuit had been filed by President Mohamed Morsy against Okasha, the owner of Al-Faraeen satellite channel, to demand that he cease broadcasts of his show “Egypt Today.” The lawsuit also lists the information minister, the chairman of the General Authority for Investment, the chairman of the board of trustees of the Radio and Television Union and the chairman of the Al-Faraeen satellite channel as witnesses in the case.

The lawsuit alleges Okasha exploited media to influence the electoral process, directs voters to choose a particular candidate and violates media ethics codes.

Morsy had filed the lawsuit against Okasha last May before the run-off round of the presidential elections, in which he competed against former Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq. Morsy was officially announced president on 24 June, and was inaugurated at the end of the month as the first elected president of the country after the overthrow of the regime of ousted President Hosni Mubarak.

Okasha, who is known for his harsh criticism of the Muslim Brotherhood and its political rise since the 25 January revolution, has recently stepped up his criticism of Morsy, saying his presence in the presidential palace is illegal.

Authorities have suspended the Al-Faraeen satellite channel for a month and threatened to revoke the channel’s license if it did not make programming changes.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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Wednesday’s papers: When Morsy told Tantawi

by admin
August 15th, 2012

Wednesday’s papers still attempt to unpack the events that culminated in President Mohamed Morsy's decision to oust the two top military strongmen. As usual, private daily Al-Shorouk quotes anonymous sources claiming that Morsy intended to sack Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, the defense minister and head of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, as soon as the new parliament is elected, but the Sinai attacks had rushed the decision.

After the bombing of a Sinai checkpoint left 16 Egyptian guards dead on the Egyptian-Israeli border, the paper reports that Morsy had asked Tantawi to fire certain SCAF members who had backed his contender former Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq in the presidential elections, but Tantawi turned him down. The paper goes on, quoting a foreign diplomatic source in Cairo as saying that Morsy felt betrayed by General Intelligence because he was not provided with an accurate report about the expected attack on Sinai. He also felt that he was undermined by the military and treated as an executive rather than the supreme commander of the armed forces.

Meanwhile, state-owned newspaper Al-Ahram seems to have gone back to the old days of Hosni Mubarak when the front page had to show the president’s picture and cover his activities. Thursday’s front page shows pictures of Morsy giving awards to Tantawi and SCAF second-in-command Sami Annan for their service to the nation, and lists the new military appointees: General Abdel Moneim Ibrahim Bayoumi as head of air defense, General Osama Ahmed al-Gendy naval commander and General Younes al-Masry as head of the air force. The paper goes on to quote presidential spokesperson Yasser Ali denying reports that the recent military reshuffle was coordinated with the US government.

On the same subject, the privately-owned Al-Tahrir quotes a US State Department spokesperson as noting that the Americans were aware of the intention to form a new military team but they did not know when the change would take place. The paper also reviews an article that appeared in an Israeli paper saying that the Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was given a heads up about the removal of Tantawi and Anan during her recent visit to Egypt.

On another front, the paper devotes a full page to a report about protests scheduled for 24 August against Morsy’s rule. Former MP Mohamed Abou Hamed vows to pursue his call against the Muslim Brotherhood’s rule and hold Morsy accountable for any attacks on protesters. The paper says that Mostafa Bakry, a former MP and a staunch supporter of the generals, has changed his attitude in light of Morsy’s latest coup and denied that he had called for any protest. The paper also says that Morsy had warned the police against any laxity in guarding the headquarters of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party during the anticipated protests.

Private daily Youm7 reports that FJP leaders have warned Interior Minister Ahmed Gamal Eddin that his job is at stake if he “fails to deal” with the protests. The report does not explain what is meant by this expression. The paper also says that the Brothers seek to thwart the protests by holding parallel marches and by filing more complaints against those calling for the anti-Brotherhood rally.

Under the headline, “The chase begins,” privately owned daily Al-Watan reports that some revolutionary groups and the Muslim Brotherhood’s political wing intend to file complaints against Anan and Tantawi, accusing them of being responsible for the killing of almost 1,000 Egyptians in violence while the military was in charge. The paper quotes Ahmed Douma, an activist and founder of the group “Against the military and against the Brothers,” as saying that he will file a complaint against both generals Wednesday, accusing them of attempting to kill him during anti-SCAF demonstrations. At the same time, FJP lawyers demanded that Tantawi and Anan be interrogated about their alleged involvement in calls to protest Morsy’s rule on 24 August, according to Al-Watan.

Wednesday's issue of the Muslim Brotherhood’s mouthpiece, Freedom and Justice, bears an incendiary article by Islamist journalist Mohamed Abdel Qoddous. The shocking high point of the piece is his argument that it is the “the enemies of our Islam” who fear Muslim Brotherhood rule. In only a few words, Abdel Qoddous lays the ground for an authoritarian religious rule where opposing the government means bearing hostility to religion. His column titled “The objective of our revolution is a civil Islamic state,” reads: “After the ouster of the generals, our revolution has a golden opportunity to declare its main objective without any ambiguity.”

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

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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Mubarak sons to be questioned over illegal land sale

by admin
August 1st, 2012

Justice Minister Adel Abdel Hamid instructed judge Osama al-Saeedy on Wednesday to begin interrogating Alaa and Gamal Mubarak, the sons of former President Hosni Mubarak, regarding an allegedly illegal land deal.   

The interrogations are part of investigations into a complaint filed Essam Sultan, a Wasat Party MP in the now-dissolved People's Assembly, claiming that former Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq squandered state funds during his tenure as aviation minister.

Before its dissolution, the People's Assembly had agreed to forward the complaint to public prosecutors after Sultan unveiled a contract through which, he alleged, Shafiq had sold 40,000 square meters of land allocated to a junior pilot association to the Mubaraks for an unreasonably low rate.

Investigations into the accusations began in late June. Shafiq has denied the allegations.

The Mubarak sons will be interrogated in Tora prison, south of Cairo, where they are being held pending investigations into a separate corruption case.

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More officials called as witnesses in Shafiq corruption case

by admin
July 26th, 2012

A judge investigating charges that former Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq squandered public funds will call the head of the Agrarian Reform authority Zakaria Helal as part of the investigation into Shafiq’s allocation of state owned plots of land to the two sons of ousted President Hosni Mubarak.

Judge Osama al-Saidi has been investigating charges since 12 July that Shafiq sold plots of land in the Bitter Lakes district in Ismailia to Alaa and Gamal Mubarak for less than the market value during his tenure as head of the Cooperative Housing Association for Military Pilots in 1993.

Saidi has also been tasked with investigating allegations that Hosni Mubarak and former Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation Youssef Wali seized 119 acres of land owned by the General Authority for Fish Resources Development and allocated it to the pilots association.

There have been conflicting reports about the land’s original ownership; some say it belonged to the ministry while others say it belonged to the Suez Canal Authority.

Most recently, Saidi heard the testimony of Mohamed Fathy Osman, head of the General Authority for Fish Resources Development, who supported claims that the land was seized and given to the pilots association.

Investigations revealed that Mubarak had issued two contradicting presidential decrees to identify the entity entrusted with the Bitter Lakes district.

In 1983, he issued a decree charging the General Authority for Fish Resources Development with overseeing water territories, including the Bitter Lakes district. However, Mubarak issued another decree in 1991 excluding the district from the authority’s supervision.

Edited translation from MENA

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Fisheries head called in Ismailia land seizure case

by admin
July 19th, 2012

Judge Osama al-Saidi, tasked by the Justice Ministry with investigating land seizure claims filed against former Mubarak-era officials, has summoned the head of the General Authority for Fish Resources Development (GAFRD) for testimony.

A complaint was filed with the public prosecution accusing ousted President Hosni Mubarak and former Agriculture Minister Youssef Wali of seizing large areas of land owned by the GAFRD in Ismailia and allocating them to the Cooperative Housing Association for Military Pilots in the early 1990s.

Former MP Essam Sharaf filed a complaint accusing former Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq of selling plots of this land to Alaa and Gamal Mubarak in 1993, when he was serving as head of the Pilot’s Association.   

Saidi asked the head of GAFRD, Mohamed Fatehy Osman, to submit documents proving that the lands had been seized. Two officials in Suez and Ismailia gave their testimony in the case a few days ago.

Saidi has formed a committee including the Illicit Gains Authority, a number of land authorities and experts from the Tax Authority to examine documents in the case.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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Generals deny accusations military swayed presidential election

by admin
June 28th, 2012

The ruling military council denied on Wednesday allegations from a media personality that it had intervened to help President-elect Mohamed Morsy into office.

Tawfiq Okasha, a former parliamentary candidate and head of the Faraeen satellite channel, sharply denounced the military council Monday and accused the generals of rigging the elections. He claimed that his friends told him former Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq was the actual victor with more than 50 percent of the vote, but that the military council agreed to announce Morsy president because it feared the Muslim Brotherhood and public outrage.

"It is impossible to rig the will of people," Supreme Council of the Armed Forces member Mahmoud Ibrahim Hegazy said during a talk show appearance on privately owned CBC satellite channel.

"The patriotic stances of the armed forces and its commander in chief, SCAF head Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, challenge this," he added, saying it would be inappropriate for the military council to intervene in election results.

"The military council avoided personal prejudices and succeeded in being neutral to uphold the will of people," he said. 

Hegazy rejected rumors that the military cut a deal with the Muslim Brotherhood and the US to sway the election in Morsy's favor.

SCAF member Major General Mohamed al-Assar, who also appeared on the talk show, said the military council was neutral toward both candidates and had pledged to conduct free and transparent elections.

"Yes, Shafiq is a son of the military institution and maintains ties with all of us [military council generals], but that doesn't mean we backed him against the other candidate. Both of them are Egyptians and met candidacy requirements, so they are both suitable for president," Assar said.

"The [military] council did not intervene directly or indirectly to give a better chance to one candidate at the expense of the other."
 
In response to a question about whether the US pressured Egypt in support of either candidate, Assar said: "The question involves an insult to the military. The military institution cannot betray [its people] and change the outcome of the elections due to pressure from the US."

Responding to objections to the military-issued supplement to the Constitutional Declaration in place since March 2011, Assar said that the document does not detract from the executive powers of the president.

Assar said Tantawi would maintain his position in the next Cabinet as defense minister and head of the military council.

The constitution supplement has triggered political outcry and is criticized for giving the military council independence from the president while diminishing the latter’s powers. It also gives the SCAF the power to appoint a new Constituent Assembly to draft the constitution if the current assembly is unable to do so.

Edited translation from MENA
 

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Grand mufti: Morsy should address Copts’ fears

by admin
June 27th, 2012

President-elect Mohamed Morsy should address the fears of his Coptic “brothers” and their problems on the ground, Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa said Wednesday.

The mufti said Morsy alone would not be able to reform the country or address problems faced by average citizens, and that he needs nationwide support, according to statements published by Dar al-Ifta’s media center on its Facebook page.

Gomaa called on all people and political groups to reach a consensus on the basics of “common, national, Egyptian civilization,” something he said was reached by political and community groups, institutions and the youth of last year’s uprising.

During a meeting with Coptic leaders from the US, the UK and Singapore at Gomaa’s office at Dar al-Ifta — an Islamic education center — Gomaa said that belonging to this country must be translated to actions in the public interest, not for narrow partisan interests.

Bishop Mounir Hanna of the Episcopal Church in Egypt also attended the meeting.

“We shall focus on what unites us rather than what divides us,” Gomaa said, saying the circle of similarities between them is much larger than the circle of differences.

Gomaa called on everyone, especially the media, to refrain from raising issues that are useless to the nation and to immediately begin substantive discussions on ones that are fundamental and help develop society.

“Egypt is full of blessings and experienced [people], which, God willing, will strongly contribute to the reconstruction of Egypt in its new era,” he said.

He warned that many problems and major challenges are still ahead for faithful citizens, requiring cooperation and solidarity to solve.

The mufti said there is a consensus among all sects that citizenship is the standard and primary determination of the relationship between Egyptians.

Morsy — the Muslim Brotherhood leader who on Sunday was announced the winner of a heated election against former Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq — met Tuesday with Bishop Pachomius, the interim pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church.

The president-elect said at the meeting that all Egyptians have equal shares in the country and that there would be a line open all day and night between him and Christians.

Medhat Kelada, head of a union of Coptic organizations based in Europe, told Al-Masry Al-Youm on Monday that he considered the Copts’ fears of the Brotherhood as “legitimate.”

He said his experience with religious political movements proves they seek exclusionary rule.

“I think promises are not enough,” he said. “The [Hosni] Mubarak regime had present promises only, without carrying out any [of them].”

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FJP: Presidential swearing-in location to be decided in 2 days

by admin
June 27th, 2012

The location of President-elect Mohamed Morsy’s swearing-in ceremony will be decided within the next two days, his spokesperson said in a statement published on the Freedom and Justice Party Facebook page.

Former members of the disbanded Parliament demand that Morsy be sworn in before the People’s Assembly, while others insist he take the oath of office in front of the Supreme Constitutional Court, the same court that ordered the dissolution of the assembly.

An administrative court on Tuesday postponed to 10 July a ruling on lawsuits over the recently issued supplement to the Constitutional Declaration, which has governed the country during the transition.

The supplement, issued by the ruling military council shortly before the runoff election on 16 and 17 June, says the new president will be sworn in before the Supreme Constitutional Court.

Former presidential candidate and human rights activist Khaled Ali, the Arab Network for Human Rights Information and the Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression have filed a lawsuit against the supplement.

The supplement diminishes the powers of the country’s newly elected president.

Morsy, the Muslim Brotherhood candidate, beat former Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq in a runoff election that pitted the decades-old Islamist group against a member of the Hosni Mubarak regime.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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Cabinet submits resignation to military council

by admin
June 25th, 2012

Prime Minister Kamal al-Ganzouri’s Cabinet on Monday submitted its resignation to Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, head of the ruling military council.

During a meeting with Ganzouri and President-elect Mohamed Morsy, Tantawi called on the Cabinet to continue its work until the new president is sworn in, which is set to take place by the end of the month.

The Presidential Elections Commission on Sunday announced that Morsy, the Muslim Brotherhood’s presidential candidate, had won the runoff election against former Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq.

Morsy won 51.7 percent of the vote.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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