Muslim Brotherhood added to list of media predators

Ahram Online

Media watchdog report calls Egypt's Brotherhood a 'freedoms violator'

Friday 3 May 2013

Osman El Sharnoubi

On World Press Freedom Day, Reporters Without Borders describes why they add Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood to its Predators of Freedom of Information list

France-based media watchdog Reporters Without Borders added Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood to their list of 'Predators of Freedom of Information' for 2013 on Friday, which marks the World Press Freedom Day, accusing the group's members and supporters of attacking journalists.

 “Members and supporters of Egyptian President Morsi’s party, the Muslim Brotherhood, have been responsible for harassing and physically attacking independent media and journalists critical of the party” the stated on its website.

President Mohamed Morsi, who has been in power for ten months, ran for presidency through the Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), which he headed before assuming power.

He announced that he parted company with the FJP shortly after winning the 2012 elections to prove that he is a “president of all Egyptians.” Critics, however, keep arguing that he is loyal to the Brotherhood, which they regard as the de-facto ruling body of Egypt.

The World Press Freedom Day is an initiative launched by Reporters Without Borders to encourage freedom of the press and pay tribute to journalists who were subjected to harm while carrying out their job.

The list released by the group includes 39 “presidents, politicians, religious leaders, militias and criminal organizations that ‘censor, imprison, kidnap, torture and kill journalists and other news providers.”

Reporters Without Borders slapped the Brotherhood with a strongly-worded critical profile, written in the subjective.

Commenting on the style of writing, Reporters Without Borders stated that "to show how some predators really think, we have presented their innermost thoughts in the first person. We had to use a little imagination, of course, but the facts alluded to conform to reality."

The Muslim Brotherhood's profile reads: "The more unpopular we [Brotherhood] are in certain circles, the more radical we become. Prosecutions for defamation, insulting the president and offending religion come thick and fast."

The statement alluded to the investigation of Egypt's most popular satirist Bassem Youssef by the prosection. Youssef was questioned for content in his weekly television programme after being accused of insulting religion and "public morality."

"The television presenter Bassem Youssef is a thorn in our side, and he is not the only one," Reporters Without Borders' profile continued.

Highly critical of President Morsi and Islamist figures, Youssef's show El-Barnameg (The Show), notably treaded over lines never crossed before on Egyptian television. Youssef was summoned by the prosecution for further questioning this Wednesday.

Many are afraid their hard-earned media freedoms, suppressed for decades under autocratic rulers, would be taken away by the Brotherhood after relatively free-reign in media outlets after Egypt's January 25 Revolution.

Brotherhood figures and their Islamist allies have repeatedly come out against media outlets that oppose the Islamist group. President Morsi himself has voiced accusations of corruption and biased reporting.

Salafist protesters aligned with the Brotherhood's policies laid siege to Egypt's Media Production City, headquarter for many opposition television channels.

"Our supporters have also taken to besieging Media City in Cairo, where the main independent television stations have their offices, in protest against 'biased' media reporting," reads the Reporters Without Borders report, still in the imaginary voice of the Brotherhood.

There were widespread demands to prosecute popular Islamist preachers, including disqualified presidential candidate Hazem Salah Abou-Ismail, for instigating what they described as "encroachment on media freedom." Such calls fell on deaf ears, however.

Islamist figures supported the siege on the Media Production City, which lasted for nearly three months, and encouraged Islamists protesters to attack television presenters and their guests as they moved in and out of the compound.

The group also cited attacks by Brotherhood members and supporters on journalists. "Party [Brotherhood] activists have been prepared to use violence against journalists on a number of occasions," Reporters Without Borders commented on its website.

Back to the imaginary Brotherhood profile, it reads: "Last December, journalists reporting on clashes outside the presidential palace were attacked by our supporters ... the same happened in March, when journalists were covering clashes outside our party headquarters in Moqattam."

The NGO also mentioned Egyptian journalist El-Husseiny Abou-Deif who was shot with a rubber bullet in clashes between pro- and anti-Morsi protesters at the presidential palace last December. Abou-Deif died after entering a coma following his injury.

Not mentioned in the report, yet still notable: Egypt's Minister of Information Salah Abdel-Maksoud – a Brotherhood member – has been slammed for what could be a sign of disrespect to women and/or journalists.

When a female reporter asked where media freedoms stand in Egypt, the minister replied: "Come and I'll tell you where they are," which many believe drips with sexual connotations.

Abdel-Maksoud repeated the same words to another journalist despite the public outrage he caused the first time.

The watchdog called for implementing measures to guarantee observing UN resolution 1738 which combats impunity for crimes against journalists.

While the Muslim Brotherhood were added to the list, Palestinian rulers in Gaza Hamas – frequently associated with the Brotherhood – were dropped from the list. Reporters Without Borders cited a sharp decline in the number of their press freedom violations as a reason for their decision.

Syrian anti-regime militia Jabhat al-Nusra, a group suspected of having ties with Al-Qaeda and Chinese President Xi Jinping were also added to the list on Friday.

Reporters Without Borders was established in 1985 and monitors media expression and freedoms on an international scale as well as providing material, financial and psychological assistance to independent journalists, the NGO says on its website. The group has a consultant status at the United Nations.

Activist stands trial for insulting dictator Morsi

Associated Press

Activist to be tried for insulting Egypt president

May 02, 2013

Adel Dorra

TANTA, Egypt (AP) — Prominent Egyptian activist Ahmed Douma was arrested and immediately referred to trial for allegedly insulting the country's president in a TV interview, a prosecutor said Thursday.

Douma is to stand trial on Sunday — less than a week after being arrested. He is the first prominent opposition activist to be tried on charges of insulting Islamist President Mohammed Morsi.

There have been a myriad of complaints levied against journalists and TV personalities, including well-known satirist Bassem Youssef, for insulting Morsi.

Rights groups say such charges restrict freedom of expression.

"The crime of insulting the president is vague and undefined," the Egyptian Organization of Human Rights, one of Egypt's oldest such groups, said in a statement on Thursday. "Most criminal codes in the world have abolished such crime."

In Egypt, such a crime is punishable by up to three years in prison. A teacher in southern Egypt was sentenced to six years in prison in September for insulting Islam's prophet Muhammad and Morsi in comments posted on Facebook. A prominent TV presenter was acquitted on charges of insulting the president and spreading false information following an appeal.

Government prosecutor Mohammed el-Taneekhi said Douma was arrested Tuesday after a member of Morsi's party, the Muslim Brotherhood, in Tanta complained that Douma had called Morsi a "killer" and a "criminal."

In his comments, Douma, a prominent activist who was among those at the forefront of the 2011 uprising against longtime autocratic leader Hosni Mubarak, blamed Morsi for a violent security crackdown on protesters in the coastal city of Port Said that left 40 people dead. Douma, in his interview on Sada el-Balad private TV in February, also held Morsi responsible for an attack by Brotherhood members in December on a sit-in by anti-government protesters outside Morsi's office.

"He is a president that is lacking legitimacy after the first blood was shed in the streets during his reign," Douma said in the interview.

"He is ruling Egypt forcefully. ... I don't see a president ruling Egypt. I see someone called Mohammed Morsi, a criminal evading justice, who is hiding in the presidential palace," Douma said, prompting a co-guest, a pro-Morsi lawmaker, to leave the studio in protest.

"There must be respect for state symbols," lawmaker Leila Sami, said before leaving.

Douma, who is also a poet, has been a vocal critic of Morsi and his government since the president was elected last summer.

He was beaten up in March during a rally outside the Muslim Brotherhood's office by the group's guards for painting graffiti they deemed offensive. The incident prompted a major rally a few days later leading to the worst clashes between Morsi supporters and critics in months.

Following these clashes, Douma was summoned for questioning on accusations of inciting violence, but he refused to turn himself in, questioning the legitimacy of the order by the prosecutor general. A court order recently annulled the presidential appointment of the chief prosecutor, a decision that he plans to appeal.

Douma also was imprisoned under the ousted regime of President Hosni Mubarak for criticizing the ex-president's policies and for illegally traveling to the Gaza Strip and blogging from there during an Israeli offensive.

Rawda Ahmed, a lawyer for the Arab Network for Human Rights Information which is part of Douma's defense team, said the activist was swiftly referred to trial before his lawyers had a chance to see the charges or find out where he was held. She said that instead of a customary bail, the prosecutors decided to keep Douma locked up until his trial "because he is causing them a big headache."

Ahmed said such court cases have been increasing, and were in part encouraged when the presidency itself filed such complaints against at least four journalists. The human rights network said in a recent report that the number of court cases and complaints involving charges of insulting the president during Morsi's 10 months in power is four times the number filed during Mubarak's entire rule of nearly 30 years.

Deputy prosecutor general Hassan Yassin told The Associated Press the complaint against Douma had been filed and investigated for a while, and that only after he was custody on Tuesday, did the prosecutors send it to trial. He noted that the presidency has dropped all its complaints against journalists accused of insulting the president.

At least one journalist, however, face trial in a case filed by citizens accusing them of insulting the president and spreading false information.

Morsi supporters say they find scathing criticism of Morsi offensive.

*Additional reporting by Sarah El Deeb.

Labor Day protests plight of Egypt's workers

Daily News Egypt 
Protests mark Labour Day

May 1, 2013

Basil El-Dabh  

Hundreds of demonstrators marched in Downtown Cairo on Labor Day on Wednesday in support of government action for labour reform.

Leftist groups joined some political parties, including the Al-Dostor Party, the Egyptian Communist Party, and Al-Tayar Al-Shaaby (Popular Current), in Sayeda Zeinab on Wednesday afternoon, while some demonstrators held up pictures of former president Gamal Abdel Nasser.

The protesters were critical of President Mohamed Morsi and his government’s approach to labour reform in post-revolution Egypt.

“All of [Morsi's] programmes and all the religious parties have done nothing for the workers,” said Samir Mansour, who was protesting alongside the parties and workers. “He doesn’t even have a programme to begin with.”

“The ousted president [Hosni] Mubarak’s rule was against the workers and Morsi’s era has been against them 200 times worse in the past nine months,” he added “There hasn’t been any change [after the revolution]. Prices continue rising and the Brotherhood have no plans to get us out of this crisis,” said Mansour.
 
The march first stopped at the Shura Council, where police had blocked Qasr Al-Aini Street so that demonstrators could not advance to the building, home to the country’s transitional legislative body.
Many of the demonstrators continued marching to Tahrir Square, chanting against the president and the IMF loan, which is still being negotiated.

“I’ve been working for 32 years with no hope of a pension,” said Sayed Ibrahim Ahmed, a textile worker. “When I ask my employer for a pension, he tells me to leave if the situation doesn’t suit me,” he added, saying he had not seen any improvement in the struggle of workers since the revolution.

“Factory owners still reap all the benefits of production,” said Mohamed Saber, from Daqahleya. “Egyptians just want to live their lives and provide for their children, but we see an increase of corruption and fraud.

“When Morsi became president, we hoped it would bring a new era to the country. Unfortunately the same regime is still ruling through the Brotherhood.”

Various political parties, along with the National Salvation Front, announced their participation in the demonstrations earlier this week, claiming they would protest in solidarity with Egyptian workers, calling for wage and labour reform, and saying that previous laws enacted under Mubarak needed to be amended.


*Photo by Ahmed al-Malky

Egypt: Female Genital Mutilation Still Widespread

VOA NEWS

Female Genital Mutilation Still Widespread in Egypt

April 30, 2013

 

Elizabeth Arrott 

 

 

Egyptian activists are concerned that the rise of Islamist politicians could undermine years of work to discourage female genital mutilation. The practice, and the movement against it, however, have far deeper roots in the country.

To its supporters, it is a sign of purity, community and religious devotion. To its opponents, it marks the physical manifestation of a woman's degradation.
 

Female genital mutilation, FGM, is an ancient custom in Egypt, with references pre-dating both Islam and Christianity. The practice remains widespread, with estimates today suggesting as many as 90 percent of Egyptian women are affected.
Egypt criminalized all forms of FGM in 2008 and rights monitors say the number of girls undergoing the operation has dropped by about one third.

But Nehad Abud Komsan, director of the Egyptian Center for Women's Rights, said the emergence of the Muslim Brotherhood and more conservative Salafist politicians threaten those gains.

“They come to say 'we may have a law to make it [legal] in a certain condition, or to say it is good for protection. They are destroying years of efforts to protect girls and women in Egypt and, unfortunately, by using religion,” said Komsan.

Courts have rejected legal challenges to the current ban, but with the judiciary and the government of President Mohamed Morsi at odds, worries are growing. Adding to concerns are predictions that Salafists are poised to do well in parliamentary elections later this year.

Komsan says non-governmental work on the ground and respect for motivations are key to changing attitudes about FGM.
  
She divides people who support FGM into three groups: those who see it as social and cultural ceremony; those who believe it will help women control their sexuality; and those who believe it is mandated by religion.

She said offering alternatives is easiest in the first two groups. By substituting different, non-invasive rituals that celebrate either womanhood or community, the spirit of the occasion is preserved, without the damage to a woman or girl's body.

Political activist and filmmaker Hala Galal described the efforts of one village that chose to reject FGM.

“Even the lady who was supposing to do this operation herself, by her hand, she also swear and she also stopped and now she is doing something like weddings. I mean she changed her career also,” said Galal.

As for those who think FGM will keep women from expressing their sexuality, Komsan argues that training the mind is a far more effective, and humane approach.

“They have to understand that protection is not by cutting a part of our body but by educating them, and ourselves, how to control our life and by sending our girls to school,” she said.

It is the third part, said Komsan, that is the hardest.

“I always joke and say FGM is a sign of unity between Muslims and the Christians in Egypt because most of them believe it is a part of their religions,” she said.

It is not, and even though both the head of the prestigious al-Azhar Institute and Christian leaders have spoken out against the practice, the link to religion remains.

Political activist Galal said there is yet another issue anti-FGM advocates face: the charge they are trying to impose western values on Egypt. “I tell people who accuse us of making this and serving the western agenda, I tell them. 'What is the other agenda, to oppress women?'”

It is an uphill battle for anti-FGM activists, but one marked by both legal and grass-root successes so far. Their worry now is that in the current political climate, the road ahead may be even steeper.