Egypt: journalists charged for 'slanderous' interview
Egypt's Middle East News Agency (MENA) announced on Nov. 11 that Judge Hisham Genina and two journalists will be prosecuted for allegedly insulting other judges. Genina gave an interview to Moammed el-Sanhouri, a reporter for Al-Masry Al-Youm daily in 2012, in which the judge accused the head of the Egyptian Judges' Club, a social club for jurists, of corruption. Both the judge and the reporter are now being charged with libel, along with the news publication's Chief Editor Magdi el-Galad.
Egypt has previously been sharply criticized for laws giving the government and security services the authority to censor the media. In 2010, Egypt issued new media restrictions that critics say effectively put all live television media, including talk shows and news shows, under government control. Earlier that month, Ibrahim Eissa, editor-in-chief and creator of the private daily paper Al-Dustour, was fired after he published an op-ed piece by opposition figure Mohamed ElBaradei. In 2008, Eissa was convicted for spreading "rumors" about the health of Egyptian President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak in an August 2007 report. Egypt's Abbaseyya Appeals Court upheld the conviction in 2008.
From Jurist, Nov. 11. Used with permission.
Egypt government ends curfew, state of emergency
Egypt's government on Nov. 12 lifted the country's state of emergency and evening curfew, which have been in place since Aug. 14. An adviser to Prime Minster Hazem el-Beblawi reported to the BBC that the state of emergency and the curfew were both lifted at 4:00 PM local time. A court ruling prompted the move, and the government said it would wait for the text of the court ruling to lift the measures. The measures were expected to end last month, but the government extended them on Sept. 12. Both measures had permitted Egyptian authorities to make arrests without warrants and to search people's homes. They had been introduced following the death of hundreds of people in pro-Mohammed Morsi camps while the authorities clearing of the camps in the capital following Morsi's ouster in July.
From Jurist, Nov. 12. Used with permission.
Morsi to sue army-installed authorities
Egypt's deposed president Mohamed Morsi will file a complaint against current authorities alleging that the coup ousting him from his office was a crime, his lawyers told reporters Nov. 13. Morsi is current awaiting his trial for inciting the murder of several protesters during his presidency after it was adjourned earlier this month until January. Morsi rejected the court's authority by refusing to dress in prison clothing and declaring the trial illegitimate, stating that he was still the lawful president of Egypt.
From Jurist, Nov. 13. Used with permission.