Egypt Today rounds up this week’s news and milestones
By Ahmed Mansour and Kaylan Geiger
Week in Quotes
Alaa Abdel Fattah Released on Bail
Political activist Alaa Abdel Fattah and two other defendants were released from prison by Cairo Criminal Court on September 15 on a LE 5,000 bail while they await a retrial for their alleged violation of the Protest Law. Abdel Fattah is facing a retrial on a 15-year prison sentence for organizing an unauthorized protest.
Abdel Fattah, a prominent blogger and actor in the January 25 Revolution, has been arrested several times in recent years for his activism. The judge in charge of Abdel Fattah’s case also stepped down following a request by the defense layers.
The news of Abdel Fattah’s release comes the same week the Protest Law is expected to undergo several amendments. Local media initially reported that the government was expected to review changes proposed by the National Council for Human Rights and the Ministry of Transitional Justice, but on Wednesday a Cabinet spokesman Hossam El-Kawish denied those reports in an interview with the TV program
Akher Al-Nahar.
On September 17 Prosecutor General Hisham Barakat ordered for 116 students imprisoned for protesting the Protest Law to be released.
"There are no signs the law will be reviewed for discussion or amendment as of yet. The government believes there is no necessity or room to review the law." — Cabinet spokesman Hossam El-Kawish to TV program
Akher Al-Nahar.
“There have been many cases that the judicial system is taking seriously, but Alaa Abdel Fattah’s case, in my opinion, is the most important of them all. It’s very important because it represents the credibility of the skeptical law forbidding protests unless with a permit. The fact that he got released makes me think the government is saying to all the people, youth in particular, that it is ok to protest without a permit. He should be set as an example to all the people that wish to pull Egypt down.” — Mohamed Arafat, a judge at the Cairo Misdemeanor Court, to
Egypt Today.
“I sometimes wonder if Egypt is on the right path or is it just drifting away. Every man and woman has an equal right to say what they need in any way possible, as long as it’s not violent. Alaa’s release gives me hope that maybe the judicial system in Egypt is willing to actually understand that sometimes for the people to be heard, they have to protest, especially [because] the media is unfortunately not on their side.”
— Amr Hassanein, human rights lawyer and political activist, to
Egypt Today.
Universities Set to Start Again Following Tumultuous Year
As students ready for the new academic year, delayed until after the Eid Al-Adha holiday, Egypt's public universities are taking precautions to curtail demonstrations on campus. Violence across campuses last year dominated headlines as students gathered on an almost daily basis to protest the ouster of former President Mohamed Morsi, the crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood and the arrests or deaths of other student protesters.
Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab said on September 12 that there will be no police or security forces placed inside university campuses aside from privately hired security contractors by the universities. Police and security forces entering campuses to contain protests stirred controversy last year.
At Cairo University, the campus workers are removing graffiti and anti-military slogans, painting walls and repairing damage caused during last year’s protests. Cairo University President Gaber Nassar also announced that all politically affiliated student groups and activities would be banned from operating on campus.
Al-Azhar University will also close some of its dormitory buildings in an effort to deny protesters a gathering place, after the dorms became a hotbed for protests last year.
“Students did learn their lesson during the last academic year: There is no shame for them to actually submit their requests for the university managers to take the necessary actions to resolve the students' complaints are complaining about. The actions that will be taken against students if they break the protest law are just, since the government has given alternative, legal ways for submitting their demands.”
— Dr. Mohamed Khalood, professor of general law at Misr International University, to
Egypt Today.
“We will not make it easy for those dictators. We have a lot to say and we will be heard and nothing will stop us, not the protest law, nor prison. In the January 2011 revolution, we learned that we can change the world and we are still persistent to change Egypt for the better.”
— Rocco, a member of Students Against the Coup, to
Egypt Today.
MILESTONES
Died, renowned writer and journalist Ahmed Ragab at the age of 86. Dubbed Egypt’s “king of satire,” Ragab was known for his satirical column in
Akhbar Al-Youm and
Al-Shorouk. Ragab had recently won Personality of the Year (2013) at the Arab Journalism Awards in Dubai. Egypt’s Journalists Syndicate called Ragab a “gentleman knight and a fierce fighter with his satirical style, and his pen mocked to defend the rights of Egyptians, especially those unable to express their everyday suffering. He also had great qualities, which earned him the love of his colleagues and his students.”
Died, actor Richard Kiel at the age of 77. Kiel’s most celebrated role was that of the steel-toothed villain Jaws in the James Bond classics
The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)and
Moonraker (1979). Much of
The Spy Who Loved Me was filmed in Egypt and features a prominent scene at the Pyramids of Giza where Jaws clenches his steel teeth down on the chain’s of an iron door to break it open. In a later scene, Jaws mysteriously escapes the claws of death after a temple crashes down on him at the Karnak Temple in Luxor.
Nominated, Egyptian music group Cairokee as “Best Middle East Act” for the MTV Europe Music Awards. If the group survives the online voting at tv.
mtvema.com/
vote, they will compete for “Best Worldwide Act” at the MTV Europe Music Awards in Glasgow on November 9.
Won, Egyptian education initiative “Street Children: Reintegration through Education” at the 2014 World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) Awards. The project, which aims to reduce the number of street children on Cairo’s streets by providing education, was one of six winners at the WISE Awards.
As students ready for the new academic year, delayed until after the Eid Al-Adha holiday, Egypt's public universities are taking precautions to curtail demonstrations on campus. Violence across campuses last year dominated headlines as students gathered on an almost daily basis to protest the ouster of former President Mohamed Morsi, the crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood and the arrests or deaths of other student protesters.
Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab said on September 12 that there will be no police or security forces placed inside university campuses aside from privately hired security contractors by the universities. Police and security forces entering campuses to contain protests stirred controversy last year.
At Cairo University, the campus workers are removing graffiti and anti-military slogans, painting walls and repairing damage caused during last year’s protests. Cairo University President Gaber Nassar also announced that all politically affiliated student groups and activities would be banned from operating on campus.
Al-Azhar University will also close some of its dormitory buildings in an effort to deny protesters a gathering place, after the dorms became a hotbed for protests last year.
“Students did learn their lesson during the last academic year: There is no shame for them to actually submit their requests for the university managers to take the necessary actions to resolve the students' complaints are complaining about. The actions that will be taken against students if they break the protest law are just, since the government has given alternative, legal ways for submitting their demands.”
— Dr. Mohamed Khalood, professor of general law at Misr International University, to Egypt Today.
“We will not make it easy for those dictators. We have a lot to say and we will be heard and nothing will stop us, not the protest law, nor prison. In the January 2011 revolution, we learned that we can change the world and we are still persistent to change Egypt for the better.”
— Rocco, a member of Students Against the Coup, to Egypt Today.
MILESTONES
Died, renowned writer and journalist Ahmed Ragab at the age of 86. Dubbed Egypt’s “king of satire,” Ragab was known for his satirical column in Akhbar Al-Youm and Al-Shorouk. Ragab had recently won Personality of the Year (2013) at the Arab Journalism Awards in Dubai. Egypt’s Journalists Syndicate called Ragab a “gentleman knight and a fierce fighter with his satirical style, and his pen mocked to defend the rights of Egyptians, especially those unable to express their everyday suffering. He also had great qualities, which earned him the love of his colleagues and his students.”
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