Egypt: Mubarak Sentenced To Life In Prison

Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was sentenced to life in prison for complicity in the killing of protesters during the 2011 revolt, AP reported. However, Mubarak and his sons Gamal and Alaa were found not guilty of corruption. Former Interior Minister Habib el-Adly was also sentenced to life in prison for complicity in killing protesters, but six of el-Adly's subordinates were acquitted of all charges. Mubarak supporters clashed with police after his verdict, while the anti-Mubarak faction protested the acquittals. Egyptian State TV reported that Mubarak suffered from a heart attack upon arriving at prison, although the claim was not immediately verified.

Stratfor 2/6/12

Where to next for Egypt?

yep,the Verdict has some People really peed off!

I'll bet on that one! Do you think the MB will dominate Egyptian politics in the near future? Or will the need for tourism to maintain economic stability encourage a more moderate government?

Not sure that the MB really gives a damn about the Welfare of the Egyptian State!

Statement from the Ayatollah Khomeini:

Islam makes it incumbent on all adult males, provided they are not disabled or incapacitated, to prepare themselves for the conquest of countries so that the writ of Islam is obeyed in every country in the world. .

and this is basically the Creed of the MB and all its Offshoots!

"An Islamic regime must be serious in every field," explained Ayatollah Khomeini. "There are no jokes in Islam. There is no humour in Islam. There is no fun in Islam."

I suspect you may be right. Sadly, another country may flush itself down the toilet all in the name of God.

A Coptic Bishop in Egypt infuriated many Christian women in the country after saying on May 18 that they should dress more modestly, “like their Muslim sisters” and follow their example, the Guardian reported earlier this week.

“Our Lady Mariam [referring to St. Mary] used to wear a tarha [long scarf covering the hair], why can’t you follow her example and cover up?” the bishop, who is one of the nominees for the papal seat of the Coptic Orthodox Church, recently said.

The comments were seemingly made in light of the fact that a vast majority of Muslim women in Egypt are now veiled, while Coptic women have recently said they are increasingly being insulted in society for not covering their hair, as per typical Muslim practice.


“Women, Muslim and Christian, who do not cover their hair or wear mid-sleeved clothing are met with insults, spitting and in some cases physical abuse,” the newspaper reported.

One Coptic woman told the British newspaper that she, along with Muslim women who do not cover their hair, get yelled at by men passing by, telling her “just you wait, those who will cover you up and make you stay at home are coming and then there will [be] no more of this lewdness.”

Recent political events in Egypt after the uprising which ousted the former autocratic government last year, have witnessed a rise in Islamist political presence.

After a vote at the end of 2011, Islamist politicians won majority seats in parliament, while a Muslim Brotherhood candidate made it to the presidential election run-off next month.

The former government, led by ousted president Hosni Mubarak, has been strongly accused of suppressing the Brotherhood and disallowing their inclusion in the country’s political affairs.

Coptic Christians in Egypt, which account for about 10 percent of a population nearing 85 million, have shown signs of being concerned at the prospect of Islamist rule in Egypt.

Christian women expressed their anger at Bishoy’s comments, staging a protest in the Coptic Patriarchate in Abbassiya on May 18 in which 50 men and women attended. The protesters believed the bishop’s statement was “political instrumentalization of Coptic women,” the paper reported.

Bishoy was accused by Coptic women of trying to woo Islamists “by showing he is willing to comply with their dress code for women,” in what would expected to be imposed upon women, under Sharia (Islamic law), in the event of a Brotherhood presidency win.

But the Islamist group’s candidate, Mohammed Mursi, dispelled such fears this week. Appealing to non-veiled Muslim and Christian women alike, Mursi said he would not impose a Muslim dress code if he assumes office.

(Written by Eman El-Shenawi)


http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/05/31/217718.html

Now, a witch hunt ensues on the man who single handedly promoted Egyptian tourism to new levels during his tenure as Minister for Antiquities.



In Egypt, Zahi Hawass, the former minister of state for antiquities reportedly now faces charges of "breaking Egypt's [1983] antiquities law" when he agreed to display Egyptian objects in Australia and the US (Anon. 'Egypt's 'Indiana Jones' faces charges', Ahram Online, Monday 2 Apr 2012). Nour El-Din Abdul-Samad, Director of Archeological Sites, has filed the accusations against Hawass, and requested that the objects in question be returned to the Egyptian Museum. Hawass is accused of "sealing a deal with the American Geographical Society to display rare Egyptian antiquities in exhibitions across the United States and Australia, violating the law of protecting antiquities".

General Prosecutor Abdel Meguid Mahmoud on Monday referred charges of wasting public money and stealing Egyptian antiquities against Zahi Hawass, former minister of state for antiquities to the Public Fund Prosecution office. [...] The Public Funds Prosecution office also received other charges accusing Hawass of wasting public money and exposing Egyptian antiquities to stealing in collaboration with former regime members. [...] The charges relate to Hawass agreeing to transfer and display 143 objects from the Egyptian Museum to Washington DC in 2003. The antiquities have yet to be returned to the museum. These exhibitions violate the antiquities law that prohibits renting Egypt's heritage.
Loans of antiquities to museums and foreign exhibitions violate antiquities laws? The money received for the Tutankhamun exhibition was to raise donations for a hospital patronised by Suzanne Mubarak which was (is?) "a private association not a state body, and as such Hawass was not legally allowed to use his position as a state minister to raise funds for it". Probably the law says the money should have gone to the Mubarak budget to buy more rubber bullets and tear gas.

We have heard from Nour el din Abdel Samad before, he's the one who thinks the National Geographic is a "Zionist" organization and on those grounds the Americans should never have been allowed on Egyptian soil ("What he is saying that the Israelis are involved in trying to change the history of Egypt to suit their needs, so that
in the future they can get public opinion (worldwide) on their side when they decide to take back there promised land"). I suspect he is one of those who Hawass referred to previously as a "son of Seth". We will see how these charges hold up.

So, here we have another reason why one should avoid loaning objects to US museums.

UPDATE 3rd April 2012:
An odd, and significant, footnote: 'Judiciary denies probing Mubarak over Hawass charges' (note also both Al-Ahram articles are unsigned, though most can guess the name of the person who was charged with writing them):

On Monday the prosecution opened an investigation into Hawass, who faces seven charges filed against him by a number of archaeologists, including the editor-in-chief of a literary magazine. In a Monday meeting with Ali El-Hawari, a lawyer from the Public Funds Prosecution Office, Hawass presented a number of documents outlining the inaccuracy of the charges filed against him, reported the Al-Ahram Arabic website. El-Hawari ordered the formation of a committee made up of a number of experts from the judiciary and the antiquities field to study all the documents presented both by Hawass and the regulatory authorities.

http://paul-barford.blogspot.com.au/2012/04/former-minister-zahi-hawass-faces.html