TOP STORIES

Gender & Sexuality

Outgoing president Adly Mansour issued one of his last presidential decrees to criminalize sexual harassment and amending existing laws that refer to sexual harassment vaguely, outlining punishments for any harasser seeking to “achieve an [unsolicited] interest of a sexual nature”. According to the law, now “any sexual hints via words, signs or acts can now result in at least six months in jail, and could carry fines between 3,000 – 5, 000 Egyptian pounds. ($420-$700)”–whether the act occurs in private or in public. [Al Arabiya, BBC, Guardian]

Marginalized Groups

The Atlantic Council highlights a “community of activists and younger voters who have seen their city more or less taken from them, their politics coopted by the older generation, and the causes they began fighting for in 2011 labeled taboo amidst the country’s mad dash for “stability” at all costs” residing in Mansoura. [Atlantic Council]

Rights & Freedoms

Vodafone, a UK-based company that has been operating in Egypt since 1998, issued a report disclosing details about wire tapping of mobile phone conversations in Egypt and other countries within its network. “The company justified publishing the information to further the debate on government surveillance systems, vowing to renew the report on an annual basis.

Moreover, Vodafone argued that the need of governments to balance the two duties of protecting the state and its citizens and securing individual privacy is the “focus of a significant global debate.” [Mada Masr, Ahram]  Read More..

Security Sector

Security forces prepared increased security measures across Cairo in anticipation of major protests that were called by the Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated National Alliance to Support Legitimacy. The NASL called for a “revolutionary week” after Abdel Fattah al Sisi was elected president. [Aswat Masriya, Ahram, Mada Masr]  Read More..

Foreign Relations

After the election victory of president-elect Abdel Fattah al Sisi, the European Union has stated that it will prepare to work “closely” with Sisi to “ensure his government respects human rights and the rule of law.” [Ahram]

MORE STORIES

Legal & Political Institutions

 Outgoing President Mansour issues series of decrees his last week in office 

Egyptian Streets:Egypt tackles littering with harsher penalties

Ahram: Outgoing President Mansour toughens penalties against littering

Ahram: Egypt’s Mansour allocates 398 acres for industrial tannery zone

Ahram:President Mansour signs into law parliamentary elections legislation

Ahram:Egypt president Mansour signs law jailing unauthorised Islamic preachers

Ahram:Egypt’s Mansour issues law for tougher sexual harassment penalties

Ahram: President lets jail sentences of 6-months or less opt for labour outside prison

In this article: In his last week in office, outgoing president Adly Mansour issued a series of decrees addressing longstanding social and political issues in Egypt. Firstly, he signed into law the parliamentary elections law which has effectively reduced the amount of seats in the House of Representatives. He also issued decrees banning all non-certified Islamic preachers, a law criminalizing all forms of sexual harassment, and harsher penalties for littering. He amended articles in Egypt’s penal code to allow for defendants with sentences of less than six months to opt for labor outside of prison. Mansour also allocated hundreds of acres of state land to establish an industrial tannery zone, and he raised income tax for the wealthy.

Rights & Freedoms

 5-year sentence upheld for Karam Saber, Egyptian author charged with contempt of religion for his novel “Where is God” 

Ahram:Egyptian court upholds 5-year sentence for author

In this article: Karam Saber, an Egyptian Coptic author who was convicted in a Beni Suef court on charges of contempt of religion, had his appeal of his five year sentence rejected by the same court. “Saber was tried and sentenced in absentia last year over his 2010 novel “Where is God.” After the initial sentencing, he turned himself in and received the same sentence in a retrial, in accordance with Egyptian law.

Security Sector

 Residents of Sinai continue disarmament campaign by turning in automatic weapons and grenades to the Egyptian Army 

Ahram:Residents of Sinai continue to disarm

In this article: A group of residents in the Sinai Peninsula have continued their campaign to turn into weapons to the Egyptian army in an ongoing effort to disarm the “strategic area.” Sources noted that the weapons delivered to the army included automatic machine guns, sniper rifles, grenades, and ammunition.