Egypt's Sisi in UAE for joint military exercises

15 hours ago

Source: Yahoo News

 

 

Abu Dhabi (AFP) - Egyptian military chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi arrived Tuesday in the United Arab Emirates, a strong supporter of his July ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi.

Field Marshal Sisi, who is Egypt's defence minister and deputy premier, travelled to the UAE to attend the closure of joint military exercises there. He was met by UAE deputy army chief Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan.

The two men noted the "fraternal and solid relations linking the two countries and their peoples," and their wish to "consolidate bilateral cooperation," the WAM news agency reported, without giving details on Sisi's plans or the length of his stay.

The Emirates have given Egypt $4.9 billion in financial aid since Morsi's ouster, as well as deposited $2 billion in the Egyptian central bank, interest free.

Last week, the UAE joined Saudi Arabia and Bahrain in recalling their ambassadors from fellow Gulf Cooperation Council member Qatar over its support for Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood.

As a sign of support for the military-installed government in Cairo, the UAE's Arabtec contractor signed a memorandum of understanding Sunday to develop a $40 billion project to build one million housing units in Egypt.

The signing came ahead of an expected announcement by Sisi that he will run in elections to replace Morsi, a vote he is widely expected to win.

Sisi has emerged as the most popular political figure in Egypt following Morsi's troubled year-long rule, with many viewing him as a strong leader who can restore stability after three years of unrest unleashed by the 2011 revolt that toppled Hosni Mubarak.

Coup alleviated Israel's fear of 'Islamist winter'

04 February 2014
Source: Middle East Monitor

 Israel's Defence Minister said on Sunday that Egypt's coup last year has alleviated the fears of Israel and several other countries about what he described as an "Islamist winter". Moshe Ya'alon made his remarks during the Munich security conference.

"Ousting the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt is an important event," said Ya'alon. "The Islamist winter would have spread to several other Arab capitals in the region." He claimed that he could feel a sense of relief to get rid of "this burden" in many Arab capitals, including Amman, Riyadh and the Gulf states. "These regimes feared that the Muslim Brotherhood would form a new wave of Islamisation that controls the Middle East region," he claimed.

According to the Israeli minister, "The Iranian revolution in 1979 led to the emergence of Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Hamas movement in the Palestinian arena, and strengthened Muslim Brotherhood elements in the region." Ya'alon then, outrageously, tried to link the resistance movements and the Brotherhood with Al-Qaeda, "which we could see emerging from the Sunni Wahhabi schools following the global jihad movement."

He concluded by saying that Egypt's coup has alleviated the feeling that Islam is the solution. "Nevertheless," he insisted, "the Middle East will be faced with a state of instability over the coming years and even decades."

Link:  www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/middle-east/9582-coup-alleviated-israels-fear-of-islamist-winter.

Israeli official: Israel and the West dependent on Al-Sisi

28 January 2014
Source: Middle East Monitor

Former Israeli Defence Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer revealed on Monday evening that Israel is encouraging Egyptian Defence Minister Abdul-Fattah Al-Sisi to run for the presidency, even though the occupation authorities are also afraid of his failure later on.

Speaking to Israeli radio, Ben-Eliezer explained that: "Al-Sisi's nomination for president could be a reflexive arrow. If he fails as a president, then the current regime that ousted the Muslim Brotherhood would be dissolved."

According to Ben-Eliezer, the danger of the current regime's failure is "the return of the Muslim Brotherhood in control of Egypt, stronger and more determined than before."

He added that this would be "bad news for Israel and the West".

Ben-Eliezer is one of the most senior Israeli politicians who publicly celebrated the July 2013 military coup that deposed Egypt's democratically elected government headed by the Muslim Brotherhood.

Link:https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/middle-east/9466-israeli-official-israel-and-the-west-dependent-on-al-sisi.

Egypt: appeal from a Swedish citizen on hunger strike at a Cairo prison

12 January 2014
Source: Middle East Monitor

A Swedish citizen imprisoned at a Cairo prison called on the Swedish prime minister and Cairo's ambassador to intervene to free him from his unjust imprisonment.
In a leaked message from Wadi al-Natron prison north of Cairo published by Al Jazeera website and dated December 6, Ahmad Fouad, a Swedish citizen of Egyptian origin, mentioned that he had been locked up since October 10 without commiting any crime.
Fouad narrates that he was in a taxi on October 10 near Cairo's Tahrir Square when "thugs" attacked the taxi and severely beat him, apparently because he was bearded, and smashed the taxi. They then handed him over to the Dokki security directorate.
Fouad added that he was beaten and tortured inside the police station along with supporters of the ousted President Mohamed Morsi.

Link:  www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/africa/9186-egypt-appeal-from-a-swedish-citizen-on-hunger-strike-at-a-cairo-prison.

Friday prayer banned in small mosques in Egypt

11 January 2014
Source: Middle East Monitor

Egyptian minister for religious affairs in the coup government, Mohamed Mokhtar Jomaa, has banned the Friday prayer in mosques with an area of less than 80 Sqm in Egypt.
The ban has already taken effect in several governorates in the country. It started five weeks ago in the city of Banha in Al-Qalyoubiyya Governorate and caused mass congestion in large mosques, which expressed their anger over the ban.
Source: Rassd
Link: /www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/africa/9171-friday-prayer-banned-in-small-mosques-in-egypt.

Egypt: detained female students subjected to pregnancy tests

12 January 2014
Source: Middle East Monitor

The family of Amena Yaser, a 17 year old high school student, said Sunday that Amena and four other students detained with her since the December 17 protests in front of Al-Azhar University have been subjected to pregnancy tests at Naser City security directorate where they were being held in provisional custody. The girls were transferred to al-Qanater prison on Sunday.

Safeya Yaser, Amena's sister, said in a Facebook post that her sister underwent a pregnancy test in a bid to humiliate her and her fellow students. They were denied food and drink for an entire day, and the security officers threw away their clothes and other belongings on their way to prison.

Link: www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/africa/9188-egypt-detained-female-students-subjected-to-pregnancy-tests-.

In Egypt, Posting This Symbol On Facebook Can Now Get You 5 Years In Prison

December 27, 2013  
  By Jim Edwards
Source: Yahoo Finance 

Rabia

Egypt has passed a law that could sentence anyone who posts this symbol on their Facebook page to five years in prison, according to Arabcrunch and Sharouk News.

Egyptian athletes expected to compete in the Olympics are also banned from flashing the four-fingered symbol, according to the country's sports minister.

The "Rabia" or "R4bia" symbol is a reference to the deaths of Muslim protestors in Rabia al-Adawiya Square. It is a symbol of support for the now-outlawed Muslim Brotherhood. Rabia means four or fourth in Arabic, and it sounds the same as the name of the mosque that became the center of pro-Muslim protests in 2012.

Following the revolution that deposed former dictator Hosni Mubarak in 2011, the Muslim Brotherhood won a national election in 2012. However, incoming president Mohamed Morsi abrogated so much power to himself that the Egyptian military staged a coup in the summer of 2013. Since then, the Muslim Brotherhood has been banned in the country even though it won the last democratic vote there.

According to a Google translated versions of Sharouk News, Egyptian police recently posted a warning on Facebook that anyone who posts the R4bia sign will be regarded as a terrorist who supports the Brotherhood, and could be subjected to five years in prison.

Link: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/egypt-posting-symbol-facebook-now-161544619.html?soc_src=mediacontentstory.

Egypt: Morsy’s Ex-Aides Forcibly Disappeared

December 1, 2013
Source: Human Rights Watch

150 Days Later, Whereabouts Unknown 

 

(New York) – The Egyptian military has detained five members of former president Mohamed Morsy’s administration at an undisclosed location without judicial process and with very little outside contact since July 3, 2013. Almost five months later, the government has yet to formally acknowledge their detention or disclose their fate or whereabouts, conditions that constitute enforced disappearance. 

The government has been carrying out a systematic crackdown against the Muslim Brotherhood. The police have rounded up thousands of the organization’s leaders, members, and perceived sympathizers. Human Rights Watch has documented significant evidence of arbitrary arrests, selective targeting of activities and individuals based solely on their political objectives, and serious due process violations. 

“What kind of roadmap is this where a military-backed government can brazenly disappear former presidential aides for 150 days without any explanation?” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director. “Forcibly disappearing people for months on end doesn’t inspire confidence that this government intends to follow the rule of law.”  

On the day it removed Morsy from power, July 3, 2013, the Egyptian military forcibly detained him and nine high-ranking members of his administration:

 

·         Ahmed Abdelaty, office director

·         Essam al-Haddad, foreign relations assistant

·         Ayman Ali, expatriate affairs assistant

·         Abdelmeguid al-Meshaly, media adviser

·         Khaled al-Qazzaz, foreign relations secretary

·         Ayman al-Serafy, secretary to the office director

·         Mohammad Rifaa al-Tahtawy, chief of staff

·         Assad El-Sheikha, deputy chief of staff

·         Ayman Hudhod, security adviser

 Family members of six detained aides who spoke to Human Rights Watch said that they lost contact with their loved ones around the time Defense Minister Abdul Fatah Sisi announced the government’s ouster on July 3. The military initially held the presidential aides incommunicado, with the exception of al-Qazzaz, who placed several short calls to his family during the first 10 days after their disappearance, assuring his family that the aides were safe and would be home soon.

In the days after July 3, the government refused to acknowledge that it was holding the former aides or to confirm their whereabouts, putting them outside the protection of the law. On July 10, Badr Abdellatty, Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman, told Agence France Presse that, although Morsy had not been “charged with anything up until now,” he “is in a safe place, for his safety, and he is being treated with dignity.” 

Ahmed El-Muslimani, spokesman for the interim president, Adly Mansour, announced on July 16 that Morsy is “in a safe place and is treated in a matter appropriate for a former president.” Neither statement, though, provided details of where Morsy was detained, nor made mention of the nine other members of his administration. It is widely presumed that the military initially held the group in the Republican Guard Headquarters.   

The military failed to bring any member of the group in front of a prosecutor within 24 hours, as Egyptian law requires, the relatives of the six detained aides interviewed by Human Rights Watch said. Based on conversations with their husbands, the wives of two detained aides said that the military separated Morsy, al-Tahtawy, and El-Sheikha from the remainder of the group several days after their initial disappearance. 

Prosecutors on July 26 formally ordered Morsy imprisoned pending investigation on a range of charges and on August 4 brought charges against al-Tahtawy and El-Sheikha, ordering their pretrial detention for 15 days pending investigation. Their location, though, remained secret. Security officials eventually transferred El-Sheikha to Tora Prison, where he is currently held. No official statement has been made about where al-Tahtawy, who previously served as Egypt’s ambassador to Libya and Iran, is being held, although a relative told Human Rights Watch that authorities held him with Morsy at an unknown location until Morsy’s preliminary court appearance on November 4, at which point they transferred both to Borg al-Arab Prison.

Prosecutors on August 6 ordered Abdelaty and Hudhod to be detained pending investigation. On that date, security officials moved both from the secret location where they had been held for over 30 days to Tora Prison, Abdelaty’s wife, Mona al-Masri, told Human Rights Watch. El-Sheikha, Hudhod, and Abdelaty appeared in court on November 4 as co-defendants along with Morsy on charges related to the clashes outside the Ettihadiya presidential palace in December 2012. 

The five other aides – al-Haddad, Ali, al-Meshaly, al-Qazzaz, and al-Serafy – remain detained without any legal basis at an undisclosed location. On July 19, al-Qazzaz called his wife, Sarah Attia, and requested that each family deliver white clothes, the uniform for prisoners in Egypt, to a particular secure facility, where an army general would receive the clothes and deliver them to the detained aides, six relatives told Human Rights Watch. The families have since periodically delivered clothing and other items and picked up laundry in this manner. 

The families of the other four aides each had a phone call about a minute long on speakerphone from their loved ones about a month after their disappearance. The aides have had limited family contact since, though they remain unable to speak with a lawyer or have any other outside contact.

Attia, al-Qazzaz’s wife, told Human Rights Watch that she learned, based on her limited communication with her husband, that the military has held the aides together in a single room,  allowing them outside for only one hour a day and denying them access to phones or the Internet. Relatives expressed particular concern about Ali and al-Haddad, who they said have chronic health conditions that require regular access to medication and doctors. 

Several relatives of the disappeared detainees told Human Rights Watch that they feared the government was detaining their relatives to use as leverage for future negotiations with the Muslim Brotherhood. A relative of al-Tahtawy said he fears the authorities will continue to hold al-Tahtawy until a new president is elected. Mona al-Qazzaz, al-Qazzaz’s sister, said she believed her brother was being “kept in the fridge” for use by the government as a negotiating lever with the Muslim Brotherhood. Al-Haddad’s son Abdullah said he has similar anxieties about his father, given that he had a close relationship with Morsy. 

All of the relatives interviewed said they felt intimidated when it came to speaking out about their family members. The al-Haddads and al-Qazzazes, in particular, said that a number of their family members have been detained. Security forces in September arrested al-Haddad’s son Gehad, who became the spokesman for the Muslim Brotherhood after June 30. Al-Qazzaz’s father, Adly, was arrested in October. Three families told Human Rights Watch that security forces have raided their homes. 

Link: http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/12/01/egypt-morsy-s-ex-aides-forcibly-disappeared.

Hamas: Arab and European intelligence agencies behind Tamarud group

12-11-2013
Source: Al Qassam website

Gaza- The Hamas Movement said that Tamarud Movement does not exist in the Gaza Strip and accused Arab and European intelligence agencies of attempting to create it in order to destabilize the situation in the Strip.

Its spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri told the Jordanian newspaper Assabil that Tamarud is desperately trying to recreate chaos in Gaza, denying at the same time its existence in Gaza.

Abu Zuhri also accused Arab and European intelligence agencies of being behind this Movement and conspiring against Gaza, stressing that their conspiracy against Gaza would reap nothing but failure.

The Palestinian interior ministry in Gaza had revealed last month during a news conference a video recording showing a masked man confessing to his cooperation with the Israeli occupation and his coordination with Palestinian Authority officers to carry out the Tamarud group plot and create chaos in Gaza.

Link: 

 http://www.qassam.ps/news-7694-Hamas_Arab_and_European_intelligence_agencies_behind_Tamarud_group.htm

President Morsi Rejects Second Prosecution Investigation; No Compromise on Legitimacy

 President Morsi Rejects Second Prosecution Investigation; No Compromise on Legitimacy

November 10,2013
Source: Ikhwanweb

 First, there was the farcical investigation into a charge against President Morsi for allegedly inciting supporters to kill demonstrators outside his Itehadia Palace; now a ludicrous investigation into an implausible charge of escaping a prison where he had been detained for a couple of weeks.

Dr. Mohamed Morsi, the legitimate President of Egypt, refused Saturday to recognize or cooperate with the first investigation by the Egyptian prosecutor in Burg Al-Arab prison – where he is being illegally detained – on false and clearly politicized charges of escaping from the Wadi Natrun prison at the beginning of the January 25 (2011) Revolution.


President Morsi affirmed that the whole process was unconstitutional, in fact a vindictive assault on the Constitution and the law, refusing to sign the records of the one-hour long interrogation session.


Overall, this is the second attempted investigation. The first was into the Itehadia Presidential Palace clashes.

http://www.ikhwanweb.com/article.php?id=31410

President Morsi Family Message: Coup Failing Despite Traitorous Junta Scorched-Earth Approach

October 14,2013
Source: Ikhwanweb

The family of President Mohamed Morsi offers sincere congratulations to all Egyptians on the special occasion of Eid Al-Adha, stressing that the coup is falling apart and will soon come to a crashing defeat.

In the name of God, Most Merciful, Most Gracious

An open letter to all honorable, patriotic people

“Lose not heart, nor fall into despair; for you are the ultimate victors, if you are true in faith” (Quran 3:139).

A very special salute and greetings from us and from the legitimate President of Egypt, who has been abducted by those who betrayed the people and repressed freedoms, on the occasion of a glorious Eid that comes to Egyptians as they stand steadfast like mighty mountains in the face of the failed military coup’s suppression, which is certainly coming to an inevitable defeat, with the will of the people and the power and Grace of God.

Greetings from the legitimate President of Egypt who would certainly not miss the opportunity to go out to congratulate Egyptians, all Egyptians, and renew his pledge to his great people who bear witness to the crimes committed by the traitorous junta against democracy, freedom and the economy.

Although coup commanders and collaborators think they can reinstate the repressive dictatorial Mubarak regime, their plots are falling apart like the frailest of all houses – the spider's web (as described by God in Quran 29:41), and the will of the people will prevail.

Special greetings from the legitimate President of Egypt to each and every grieving family, under the dark shadow of this treasonous coup – to every family who lost a breadwinner, a son or a daughter now missed either because they were killed, injured, detained or are missing due to the ferocious fascists’ insatiable appetite for death and destruction and the coup that will certainly end soon.

We truly believe that your collective will and your peaceful protest actions are the most effective and the most powerful, with the will of Almighty God, to defeat this vain fascist coup.

Every day, people of conscience discover the falsity and the evil of the bloody coup and its heinous plots against Egypt, its people and its democratic transformation. The junta’s acting, pretense and false promises no longer deceive the people, who stand steadfast against the coup and its brutal practices.

The President, too, stands steadfast to the last breath. He will not back down on the fair demands of reinstating constitutional and democratic legitimacy. He will not be defeated by illegitimate abduction and detention or by invalid farcical trials that blatantly violate the Constitution and the law.

Furthermore, the President will not back down from the demand to return to the democratic process, even if his souls is the price for returning to the path of democratic transition chosen by the people as they regained their freedoms – sacrificing in the process many honorable martyrs and much precious blood.

The people will not lay to waste those great sacrifices by cowering or compromising, not with all the martyrs they miss and the wounded, detainees and the loved ones who have disappeared.

No-one can break the will of your legitimate President, because it is of your popular will, and it derives from your own steadfastness, courage and noble character.

Let the peaceful Revolution continue in Egypt’s liberty squares, not simply in support of the president as a person, but in defense of the homeland whose present is being demolished and future stolen by a gang of enemies of the people.

"They say: ‘When will that be?’ Say: ‘Sooner than you think’!" (Quran 17:51)… Then, the tyrants will realize the falsity of their fortifications, and the brave who stand steadfast will realize how great and honorable the sacrifices they made for their homeland were.

"God's command has been written. Do not hasten it" (Quran 16, 1).

Osama Mohamed Morsi

Official spokesman for the family of the legitimate President.

Link:  http://www.ikhwanweb.com/article.php?id=31360

Islamist backers of Egypt's ousted president march

20 hours ago
By:Aya Batrawy
AP
Source: Yahoo News

CAIRO (AP) — Several thousand protesters demonstrated in cities across Egypt on Friday in the latest show of strength by supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi against the military, which deposed him more than two weeks ago.

Waving Egyptian flags and holding up pictures of Morsi, marching protesters chanted slogans against the move by army chief Abdel-Fatah el-Sissi. Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood mobilized the marches under the banner, "Breaking the Coup."

Protesters in Cairo converged in front of a mosque in eastern Cairo, where thousands have been holding a sit-in since Morsi was removed.

At least 400 protesters marched through northern Sinai Peninsula's main city of el-Arish. The military dropped flyers urging people to act protect their land and Sinai from "terrorists."

The lawless part of northern Sinai has been the scene of attacks by Islamist militants against Egyptian security forces and police for two years. The pace of the violence has picked up since Morsi's overthrow. To combat the wave, Egypt has beefed up its forces there with the agreement of neighboring Israel, which is also concerned about the growing strength of militants there.

Despite sweltering heat, pro-Morsi supporters also took to the streets in the northern coastal city of Alexandria and several Nile Delta cities.

The Friday rallies coincide with the 10th day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which Egyptians celebrate as the day their armed forces crossed the Suez Canal in the 1973 war with Israel. Fighter jets flew overhead in Cairo to mark the day with an air show.

Youth activists who launched the mass protests that led to Morsi's ouster by the military are planning a demonstration in Cairo's Tahrir Square to also mark the 10th day of Ramadan, raising fears of clashes in the capital.

Though the two main protest sites will be several kilometers (miles) apart in the city of 18 million, marches by either side could spark violence.

About 60 people have been killed in clashes with security and local residents that erupted out of demonstrations since Morsi's ouster. Most of them were killed in a single clash outside a Republican Guard base in Cairo between Brotherhood supporters and the military.

The military replaced Morsi with interim President Adly Mansour, who pledged Thursday in a pre-recorded televised message to protect his country against those who seek chaos and violence in the aftermath of Morsi's toppling.

Also Thursday, the military warned it would act swiftly to prevent violence.

Egypt Clerics Warn of 'Civil War' as Rallies Begin

28 Jun 2013
Reuters
Source: CNBC

Egypt's leading religious authority warned of "civil war" on Friday and called for calm after a member of the ruling Muslim Brotherhood was killed ahead of mass rallies aimed at forcing the president to quit.

"Vigilance is required to ensure we do not slide into civil war," the Al-Azhar institute said. In a statement broadly supportive of Islamist head of state Mohamed Mursi, it blamed "criminal gangs" who besieged mosques for street violence which the Brotherhood said has killed five supporters in a week.

There was no immediate sign of trouble as Islamists gathered round a Cairo mosque after weekly prayers to show support for Mursi. His opponents hope millions will turn out on Sunday to demand new elections, a year to the day since he was sworn in as Egypt's first freely elected leader.

"I came to support the legitimate order," said Ahmed al-Maghrabi, 37, a shopkeeper from the Nile Delta city of Mansoura whose hand bore grazes from street fighting there this week. "I am with the elected president. He needs to see out his term."

There was a mostly festive atmosphere in the hot sunshine, with vendors selling mango and cakes and banners flying. Some opposition gatherings were also under way. A handful of protesters watched security men ringing the presidential palace,

the focus for Sunday's Cairo rally. Mursi has moved elsewhere. The army, which heeded mass protests in early 2011 to push aside Hosni Mubarak, has warned it will intervene again if there is violence and to defend the "will of the people". Both sides believe that means the military may support their positions.

The United States, which funds Egypt's army as it did under Mubarak, has urged compromise and respect for election results.

Egypt's 84 million people, control of the Suez Canal and treaty with Israel all contribute to its global strategic importance.

Economy

In Alexandria, the second city, several thousand protesters marched along the seafront. Some fear the Brotherhood is intent on usurping the revolution to entrench its power and Islamic law.

Others were complaining mainly about economic stagnation. "I've nothing to do with politics, but with the state we're in now, even a stone would cry out," said 42-year-old accountant Mohamed Abdel Latif.

"There are no services, we can't find diesel or gasoline. We elected Mursi, but this is enough. Let him make way for someone else who can fix it."

"Dr. Mohamed Mursi's speech of yesterday only made us more determined in our call for an early presidential vote in order to achieve the goals of the revolution," the liberal opposition coalition said after its leaders met to consider a response.

"We are confident the Egyptian masses will go out in their millions in Egypt's squares and streets on June 30 to confirm their will to get the Jan. 25 revolution back on track."

It is hard to gauge how many may turn out but much of the population, even those sympathetic to Islamic ideas, are deeply frustrated by economic slump and many blame the government.

Previous protest movements since the fall of Mubarak have failed to gather momentum, however, among a population anxious for stability and fearful of further economic hardship.