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Egypt Tag

Posted by Leslie Eastman on February 02, 2014 9 Comments
Throwing reporters in jail is worrisome, even if they are from Al-Jazeera.  Did they commit actual crimes, or is it simply an attempt to silence reporting? Egypt to put 20 journalists on trial on terrorism-related charges
Egypt said 20 Al-Jazeera journalists, including both Egyptians and foreigners, will face trial on terrorism-related charges. Among them are three journalists employed by Al-Jazeera English, the Qatari-based international news channel. Award-winning Australian correspondent Peter Greste, Canadian-Egyptian producer Mohammed Fadel Fahmy, and Egyptian producer Baher Mohammed were arrested on Dec. 29 in a raid on a Cairo hotel room, which the network was using as a temporary bureau. The Egyptian government alleges that 12 of the Al-Jazeera journalists remain at large, while eight are in state custody, including Greste, Fahmy and Baher. Authorities have not set a date for the trial or released the full list of the defendants' names. However, in a statement released by the General Prosecutor's office, the Egyptian defendants have been charged with “crimes of belonging to terrorist organizations violating the law, calling for disrupting the law and preventing state institutions from conducting their affairs, assault on personal liberties of citizens and damaging national unity and social peace.”
The report went on to say: Egypt has become among the most dangerous and difficult places to work for journalists. This cannot be news...especially to CBS reporter Lara Logan. Since the ouster of former President Mohammed Morsi, Field Marshal Abdul Fattah al-Sisi has become extremely popular among his countrymen for his aggressive handling of the Muslim Brotherhood. A video report from CCTV Africa offers some intriguing background:

Posted by Leslie Eastman on December 27, 2013 5 Comments
Egypt can be a place of miracles. As we have just celebrated Christmas, I am reminded of the flight into Egypt of the Holy Family. More recently, snow hit the streets of Cairo in more than a century. Now, Egypt begins its recovery after a brief visit with political insanity.
Egypt's security authorities launched a sweep of arrests of Muslim Brotherhood members on Thursday and warned that holding a leadership post in the group could now be grounds for the death penalty after it was officially declared a terrorist organization, stepping up the government's confrontation with its top political nemesis. The announcement came as a bomb exploded in a busy intersection in Cairo Thursday morning, hitting a bus and wounding five people. Though small, the blast raised fears that a campaign of violence by Islamic militants that for months has targeted police and the military could turn to civilians in retaliation for the stepped up crackdown. The terrorist labeling of the Brotherhood — an unprecedented step even during past decades when the group was banned — takes to a new level the government's moves to crush the group, which rode on elections to dominate Egypt's politics the past three years until the military removed Islamist President Mohammed Morsi in July after massive protests against him.
The move was made shortly after officials blamed the Muslim Brotherhood for a suicide bombing at a police headquarters north of Cairo that killed 16 people, as well as a series of other events highlighting increasing political tensions ahead of a key Jan. 14-15 referendum on a revised constitution.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on October 27, 2013 5 Comments
I have been following the disturbing news from Egypt closely; while it was hoped that a new president and a ban on the Muslim Brotherhood might stem more violence against its Coptic Christians, it looks like that is not to be:
The wedding party stood outside the church, eagerly awaiting the ceremonious arrival of the bride. Instead, drive-by shooters killed four, including two children and the groom's mother, and injured 18. Beyond its poignancy, the attack in Cairo's industrial neighborhood of Warraq was significant for being one of the first to target Egypt's Christians specifically, versus the now-common attacks on their church buildings. "Since the revolution, this is the first instance Coptic people were targeted randomly in a church, with weapons," said Mina Magdy, general coordinator for the Maspero Youth Union, a mostly Coptic revolutionary group formed in response to church burnings in 2011 after the fall of President Hosni Mubarak.
Interestingly, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul spoke about the issue of Muslim violence against Christians at a Value Voters summit earlier this month:
“Christians are being attacked around the world, but you won’t hear much about it on the evening news because the answer’s not convenient,” Paul continued. “It doesn’t fit the narrative we have been told about radical Islam. The president tries to gloss over who’s attacking and killing Christians. The media describes the killings as sectarian. But the truth is, a worldwide war on Christians is being waged by a fanatical element of Islam....”

Posted by Leslie Eastman on September 24, 2013 10 Comments

I have always held out hope that the Egyptians would recall their proud, pharaonic roots and quell the growing Islamo-extremism within their country. Today, I caught the first positive news I have read about the region in a long time: An Egyptian court has banned the...

Posted by Leslie Eastman on August 19, 2013 23 Comments

Professor Jacobson is right: With the acquittal of Egypt's supposedly evil dictator Hosni Mubarak, we’re almost back to square one. Square one minus many national treasures of unsurpassed beauty and historical importance, that is. I have been following the nearly unreported news of the plundering of Egypt's...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on August 19, 2013 29 Comments
He was acquitted of corruption charges. Somehow I doubt that would have happened but for the non-coup coup. The most recent reports are that he will be released within 48 hours. https://twitter.com/CBSNews/status/369417801930264576 Remember, Obama told Mubarak to leave "yesterday" rather than allow the 9 month transition Mubarak was suggesting. It was an error we criticized at the time because the only political party at the time with the organization to win an election was the Muslim Brotherhood. The more secular and civil elements of society did not have time to make up for lost ground, and the rest is history. The anti-democratic MB won the elections and proceeded to act like everyone predicted. Now we're almost back to square one. https://twitter.com/EslamMouniir/status/369442004586868736 Updates to follow. https://twitter.com/AlArabiya_Urdu/status/369439753734590464 The Sinai continues to spin out of control, with 24 Egyptian policemen killed in an ambush near the Gaza border, which Egypt has now closed. There are reports they were executed: https://twitter.com/nycjim/status/369409135483183104 Don't be surprised if Egypt ends up attacking Gaza, which the MB now uses as a safe haven and also is the home to even more extremist Islamist groups.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on August 16, 2013 14 Comments
NOTE - This post will be updated throughout the day, with "breaking" news at the top, other updates below, and the live streams at the bottom: After several hundred people were killed yesterday, the Muslim Brotherhood has called for "Friday of Anger" protests across the country. https://twitter.com/PGrandperrin/status/368498324271165441 https://twitter.com/ladams828/status/368430215657033729 https://twitter.com/ABC/status/368408526969794561 https://twitter.com/assem21/status/368429998287630336 https://twitter.com/BuzzFeedNews/status/368429296165322753 https://twitter.com/RichardEngel/status/368404153199915008

Posted by William A. Jacobson on August 15, 2013 9 Comments
NOTE - This post will be updated throughout the day, with "breaking" news at the top, other updates below, and the live streams at the bottom: BREAKING - OBAMA STATEMENT - Condemns violence, cancels joint military exercise, but no aid cutoff:

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

--------------- The death toll from yesterday's violence has risen to over 500, including numerous policemen. https://twitter.com/haaretzcom/status/367962951564525568 It's also becoming clear that the Muslim Brotherhood fired weapons on police who sought to evict the protester's encampment, which likely contributed to the high death toll as police responded with live fire (video via WaPo): Attacks on Christian churches by Islamists also have spread (list here).

Posted by William A. Jacobson on August 14, 2013 12 Comments
NOTE - This post will be updated throughout the day, with "breaking" news at the top, other updates below, and the live streams at the bottom: UPDATE 8/14/2013 at 10:10am ET: A month-long state of emergency has been declared. https://twitter.com/AP/status/367644219391102978 https://twitter.com/BBCBreaking/status/367675743289245696 https://twitter.com/ZekeJMiller/status/367683057022562306 Overnight the Egyptian military attacked Muslim Brotherhood protesters encamped in Cairo. There are reports of dozens, maybe hundreds dead. (Live video and Twitter feeds at bottom of post.) https://twitter.com/ABC/status/367754493636521984 In turn, Muslim Brotherhood supporters around the country have turned on the Christian population, including burning churches. https://twitter.com/JeffreyGoldberg/status/367586159116816384 https://twitter.com/EIPR/status/367592909517770753 https://twitter.com/RanyaKhalifa/status/367573102609195010 https://twitter.com/DaliaEzzat_/statuses/367838401317195776

Posted by William A. Jacobson on August 08, 2013 9 Comments

The pro-Morsi protest that almost was: With an iron will, the People of Egypt will stand up to the military junta.  Here, you troops, here is your Zionist-loving tear gas canister back at you! Our women! Look what they did to our women! Oh Lord, we will not...

Posted by Mandy Nagy on July 27, 2013 3 Comments

More violence has erupted in Egypt as thousands of protesters have taken to the streets in rival demonstrations for and against the continued detention of ousted Egyptian President Morsi. From CNN: Massive, rival rallies in and around Cairo ran into the wee hours of Saturday, with one...

Posted by David Gerstman on July 10, 2013 8 Comments

Mideast Media Sampler 07/10/2013 - Why doesn't David Kirkpatrick of the New York Times tell the complete story about the Muslim Brotherhood?...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on July 10, 2013 37 Comments

On university campuses, in Great Britain, at the United Nations, and in much of the world he would be called "Islamophobic" if his words were spoken by someone else. But clearly he is not that. I call him hope for the future of Egypt. ...

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