The Egypt Monitor

Prominent Opposition Journalist Faces Jail Sentence (6/29)

Ibrahim Issa, a prominent and outspoken opposition journalist and editor of the independent newspaper "Al-Dostour", received a one year jail sentence on June 26. Issa, together with two other journalists are accused of "humiliating the president of the republic" in their articles. It is the first time this accusation has been used since the establishment of the republic in 1953. Issa is known as being one of the most outspoken journalists against the regime. The Egyptian opposition and journalists expressed their solidarity with Issa and his colleagues.

Al-Ghad Party Honoring Political Prisoners (6/29)

Al-Ghad - the "Tomorrow"- party held a ceremony to honor political prisoners on Thursday June 29 in its headquarter in Cairo. The event will highlight the case of Ayman Nour, the party's founder, and will also honor released political prisoners.

The Alliance of Egyptian-Americans Takes a Position on US aid to Egypt (6/28)

The Alliance of Egyptian-Americans (AEA) -Mid-Atlantic Chapter- said the US assistance package to Egypt should be tied to political reforms and the respect of human rights. The AEA urged the United States administration to link the 1.7 billion dollar assistance to Egypt to progress made on political reforms based on president Mubarak 2005 presidential campaign promises.

Consultative Council Prepares Report on Constitutional Amendments (6/29)

The Consultative Council (CC), the upper chamber of the Egyptian parliament, prepared a report to president Mubarak on constitutional amendments. The report was created on Mubarak's request, the president will study it will propose amendments to the parliament. The report proposes to replace the single candidate system with one of proportional representation so as to increase the representation of women in elected bodies, to cancel articles of the constitution that stipulate that legislation should be based on socialist principles, to increase the power of the Prime Minister in general and particularly if the country is facing danger. The Wafd party presented its vision for the constitutional reforms to the People's Assembly- the lower chamber of parliament- in which it focused on decreasing the power of the president in favor of a Prime Minister accountable to the parliament.

New Law of the Judiciary gets Initial Aproval By the People's Assembly (6/28)

The People's Assembly (PA) gave its initial approval to the new law on the judiciary. Members of parliament from the ruling National Democratic party (NDP) support the new law, while it did not get backing from opposition and independent MPs who expressed their solidarity with the demands of the Judges. During the discussion, the speaker of the People's Assembly accused opposition and independents members of parliament of "poisoning" the judges' ideas by visiting the Judges Club, which led to a withdrawal of all opposition and independent MPs from the session, leaving the session to NDP MPs.

Court Verdict Cancel Legislative Election in a Cairo District (6/28)

The appeal court canceled the result of the 2005 legislative election in Cairo's Sixth electoral district on Thursday June 22. The ruling was against National Democratic Party declared winners and in favor of three candidates among which a female member of the Muslim Brotherhood. The ruling is unlikely to have an effect, as according to Egyptian law parliament is "sovereign" and has the authority to reject any ruling against its members, even if a court proves that there were irregularities during elections.

General Assembly of the Judges Club Insists on Indpendence of the Judiciary (6/28)

The general assembly of the Judges Club (JC) met on Friday June 23 to react to the latest developments on the new law of the judiciary. The JC opposed the new law because it does not grant a genuine independence to the judiciary. The government did not take into consideration the major changes that Egyptian judges wishes to see. The new law still gives the executive branch of government an important leverage over the judiciary. Zakaria Abdel-Aziz, head of the JC, vowed to continue the judges' struggle until the regime approves the draft law presented by the JC.

Upper Chamber of Parliament Approves New Law of the Judiciary (6/28)

The Consultative Council (CC), the upper chamber of parliament, approved a new law on the judiciary of June 21. This comes directly after the legislative committee of the People's Assembly (PA) - the lower chamber of parliament- approved the new law. The PA legislative committee hosted a heated debate between MPs from the ruling National Democratic party and the opposition over the law as the latter believe that it does not grant genuine independence for the judiciary. The Judge Club expressed its discontent with the new law while the government maintains that the new law grants greater independence to the judiciary.

Court Case Against Members of Parliament who Switched Alliegence (6/28)

An appeal on a court case against members of parliament (MP) who switched allegiance was scheduled for November 26. The case concerns independent candidates who joined the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) after being elected as independents in the 2005 legislative elections. The case was presented to the administrative court by a voter who considered that MPs who switched loyalty after being elected betrayed their constituencies.

Sit In in the Journalist Syndicate (6/28)

The Journalist Syndicate organized a sit in on June 16 to protest against the government delays abolishing jail sentences for publication offences. The syndicate also expressed its solidarity with three journalists facing jail sentences for publication offences. Galal Aref, head of the syndicate, expressed his opposition to a new law "to fight rumours", currently under study by the People's Assembly, calling it  unconstitutional.