The Fourth edition of Mesaha magazine

MESAHA Magazine

ISSUE 4

English Version

Al-Warraq Island and the Battle of "Development"

A retrial of the island's inhabitants and evictions of others. Demands that people leave their homes.

The story of "Hit and Run" between the Government and the islanders since 2000. The journey of proof of ownership and rights.

The past weeks have seen protests by a number of residents of Al-Warraq Island, after some residents and young people were arrested by security forces, and protesters demanded the immediate release of their relatives. This coincides with the Cairo Criminal Court's retrial of 19 defendants in their sentence in absentia of life and aggravated in the Al-Warraq Island riot case.

The list of defendants in the Al-Warraq Island case includes 35 of its people for their protests against the Government's 2017 eviction plan, which the Government has been demanding for some time to evacuate their homes, while the people fought against the eviction attempts more than once.

Subsequently, the Presidential Amnesty Commission announced the release of the people of Al-Warraq Island who had been arrested for refusing to hand over their land to the Urban Development Authority, to set up a housing project with a real estate coalition, after the island's demonstrations had continued for days.

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The referral order revealed that the accused had trespassed on public and private property, reviewed force, prevented public officials from doing their jobs, bullied, reviewed force, and blocked roads. The referral order added that during the implementation of the large campaign to remove irregularities and encroachment on the property of Al-Warraq Island, based on decisions issued by the ministries of agriculture, irrigation, and Awqaf in conjunction with the executive bodies of the governorate.

Al-Warraq Island is one of the largest islands in the heart of the Nile River, Egypt. It is administratively dependent on the governorate of Giza, with an area of 1600 acres. It is one of Egypt's 255 largest islands.

The island's population is about 60 thousand, most of whom depend on agriculture and fishing activities as a major source of income.

The Egyptian authorities are currently attempting to evacuate their population in order to implement a number of large real estate projects and investments. The crisis in the island of Al-Warraq dates back to 2000 when former Prime Minister Atef Ebeid took the decision to convert the islands of Al-Warraq and Al-Dahab into public goods.

In 2010, the crisis between the government and the people of Al-Warraq was renewed. The Ministry of Ahmed Nazif saw the importance of the island's development and issued a decision to establish a committee to examine the environmental conditions of Al-Warraq Island and to develop an environmental correction plan.

In 2015, a Nile Rescue Campaign was launched under the auspices of the Ministry of Irrigation and the participation of 34 government entities, and the Ministry organized more than one campaign to remove encroachment on Al-Warraq Island, an encroachment on the Nile River by dumping sewage into the waters of the Nile. The Egyptian authorities resumed their efforts to expropriate the Rafah land beginning in 2017, claiming that it was state property, which the population met with repeated protests and litigation against the Prime Minister and the Minister of Housing.

By a Government decision the same year, 17 islands were excluded from the nature reserves' decision, and the paper was converted into an investment zone. In June 2017, the President of the Republic commissioned the Ministry of Housing and the Urban Planning Authority to revive the Nile Islands Development Scheme prepared in 2010, beginning with Al Warraq Island, so that it becomes a major hub for finance and business.

In July 2017, there were violent clashes with the police, following a campaign to remove houses, resulting in the injury of 31 police and 19 citizens according to data from the Ministries of Interior and Health. A number of people have also been arrested, some of whom have been sentenced to 5 to 25 years imprisonment on charges of assembly, use of force, and violence.

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In February 2018, the Egyptian Parliament approved the Expropriation for Public Benefits Act, which prevented appeals against expropriation decisions in the public interest and the amount of compensation, contrary to what was in place. The Official Gazette published the decision of former Prime Minister Sharif Ismail in June 2018 to establish a new urban community on the land of Al-Warraq Island under the New Urban Communities Authority In April 2019, the government agreed to issue a republican decision, relocating the island's dependence on the Communities Authority, in order to begin implementing its development plans in full, in cooperation with the Armed Forces Engineering Authority. In July 2020, the Council of Ministers approved the declaration of Al-Warraq Island area as a re-planning area, as part of the reduction of unplanned indiscriminate growth in Al-Warraq Island.

On August 15, 2022, security forces arrested 14 of Al-Warraq residents while resisting police forces who were raising the measurements of a number of houses in the Qalimiyah basin area in preparation for their expropriation. The Egyptian government announced that 71% of the island of Al-Warraq, southwest Cairo, had become owned by the Urban Communities Authority, under the plan to own all land belonging to the country's large Nile islands.

In a statement, the Egyptian "Constitution" party declared that it condemned "the incursion by security forces into Al-Warraq Island, the indiscriminate arrest of a number of citizens and the use of tear bombs to disperse residents who had gathered, rejecting ongoing attempts to forcibly demolish their homes", according to the statement.

The party demanded fulfilling "the promises made to the people of Al-Warraq by the State, and their demands for the immediate release of those arrested during the past as well as ending any attempts to forcibly remove people from their homes, and that any eviction should be the product of a process of negotiation between people, their full satisfaction, respecting the Constitution and the law, the inviolability of people's lives, and their private property, " the statement said.

The Socialist People's Alliance party expressed strong condemnation of the governing power practices against the people of Al-Warraq Island, namely the use of excessive force and large numbers of troops to enable the demolition and removal of the center of youth, and then Al-Warraq Island Hospital. It is an unparalleled unprecedented incident that amounted to a crime.

In a statement, the party said that these recent actions against Egyptian citizens on Al-Warraq Island are a continuation of the policy of exerting extreme pressure and repeated denigration of tens of thousands of residents of that area located in Giza, Greater Cairo", which has been persistently repeated in the last

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three years in an attempt to force the population to evacuate their homes and lands in that area where they have lived in a stable manner for hundreds of years and many of whom possess legal licenses.

The People's Alliance called for the immediate cessation of these practices, stressing its contradiction with the claims of repairing and remedying mistakes through a dialogue involving Egyptians of different orientations, a dialogue that was known to have the right climate for the release of all prisoners of conscience and not to add widespread arbitrary practices with large segments of peaceful simplistic Egyptians.

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What happens inside Badr prison complex?

Countless complaints of intransigence and restriction of prisoners Violations highlighted: prevention of visits and medical negligence "Till the last prisoner" demands the investigation of complaints and cessation of restrictions on prisoners Repeated complaints from prisoners of Badr prison complex, between ill-treatment, medical neglect, or even limited visits, are violations that prisoners live in the hope of hearing their complaints and repeated demands that are their rights according to prison regulations. There are common complaints among inmates within "Badr 1 prison and Badr 3", that there is medical negligence and severe difficulty in providing rapid ambulance in case of illness inside, as well as that the lighting of the prison continues to work and continues throughout the night.

These violations were monitored by the campaign "Up to the Last Prisoner", which documented a package of violations faced by prisoners in Badr 1 prison, monitoring the quality of violations that had increased in recent times. In a statement, the campaign condemned the systematic psychological and physical ill-treatment and torture of prisoners on death row at Badr 1 prison, as well as the ill-treatment of the detainees' families in all prison wards, and the lack of normative permission for visits.

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According to the families of the detainees in Badr 1 prison, they need a permit to enter the textbooks, and one individual is allowed to visit, indicating that the books are allowed to be entered into the lawyers' visits as they heard.

Countless violations documented by human rights campaigns Although poor conditions and neglect are common complaints within the "Badr 1, Badr 3" prisons, the situation seems to be more difficult with the "Badr 3 prison" - according to the circulation between lawyers and detainees' families - the sickness is forbidden, the food is very bad, and the transformation is not timely and delayed by months. Besides, visits are not permitted inside Badr 3 Prison, and inmates are unable to see or check on their parents, and also are prohibited from entering books, and the prison lighting works 24 hours, which disturbs them.

Medical neglect seems to prevail within Badr 3 Prison. "Prisoners are not allowed to enter the medication. There is difficulty in aiding emergencies such as diabetes. There are also no refrigerators for insulin injections, resulting in injection invalidity," which was reported according to lawyers and prisoners' families who have spoken about these violations. The health condition of prisoners, including young people, is not good. The majority of them suffer from severe bone pain because they sleep on the tiles directly, there are not enough blankets to sleep on, in addition to wearing light clothes that do not fit into the winter, which affects their health condition, and suffer from colds continuously.

Rights demands for investigation The "Till the Last Prisoner" campaign called on the Egyptian authorities to open an immediate investigation into these violations, which they considered to be a continuation of the approach of the Ministry of Interior and the Badr prison administration based on retaliation against political prisoners.

The campaign also called for the cessation of systematic practices of torture and violation of the right of inmates to enable the families of detainees to visit their relatives and to allow the introduction of essential items of food, medicines, and the protection of prisoners, in the implementation of the rights enshrined in the Constitution and the Prison Organization Act. It also called for the establishment of an independent commission of jurists and civil society organizations to examine prison conditions in relation to conditions of detention.

The campaign documented the mistreatment of the inmates starting with the prohibition of visiting them, the prison administration deliberately providing them with minimal amounts of food, as well as physical abuse. According to testimonies from well-informed sources monitored by the campaign, violations of the death row inmates escalated, with the prison administration handcuffing them for days on end, separating them in solitary cells, and isolating them from the rest of the prison's prisoners.

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Since their transfer, the inmates of the death row at Badr1 prison have been prevented from visiting, access to essential items such as clothing, medicine, coverings, and food, the prohibition against purchasing from the prison cafeteria, the prohibition of communicating with parents and lawyers, and the lack of access to the necessary health care, as reported by the campaign.

The campaign considered that what was happening put detainees' lives at risk, especially since the competent authorities had not taken any step or action toward such violations or the protection of detainees.

In December 2021, the Ministry of the Interior announced the opening of a new prison complex in Badr, called the "Badr Correction and Rehabilitation Centre", which in turn will contribute to improving the conditions of detention of prisoners and take into account international standards on prisoners' rights.

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Abu al-Fattouh, Al-Qassas, and Domah and their long journey of ordeals

From the first moment the prisoners moved to Badr prison complex, many different complaints arose regarding poor conditions, treatment, deliberate medical negligence, and denial of access. On October 9, 2022, Dr. Abdel-Moneim Abu al-Fattouh, head of Strong Egypt Party, complained about the situation inside the prison, commenting on the situation in the simplist, yet striking phrase, "The situation is fatal and deadly."

According to his son Ahmed Abu al-Fotouh, following his family's visit to his father at the time: "He was transported without clothing, no cover, no personal belongings. He was transported only in the clothes he wore. He was transferred to a solitary cell with a mattress on the floor without any equipment without a bed, not even a chair or a freezer. Just the least amount of food is allowed inside a 24-hour camera surveillance cell. The least basic requirements of a decent life for any human being is not available ".

In the same vein, Iman al-Sadini, wife of Mohamed al-Qassas, Vice-President of the Strong Egypt Party, complained about the visits in cabins regardless of any health considerations. On 18 December 2022, Al Qassas refused the visit after the prison insisted on being in the cabin despite his wife's illness and her suffering from claustrophobia.

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Confirming the poor conditions in Badr prison, the family of political activist Ahmed Domah complained about the worsening conditions of his detention day by day since he was transferred from Tora prison to Badr prison, specifically after being allowed to exercise with "ISIS defendants." In an earlier statement, the family explained that "Domah's life is in danger, especially after being allowed by officials (Badr 1 prison) to exercise with some prisoners belonging to the Islamic State group" ISIS ", as he told them.

The family continued: "His exercising at this time resulted in a series of verbal attacks on Ahmed and verbal clashes with him more than once." In early December 2022, the family of political activist Ahmed Domah issued a statement in conjunction with his tenth year in prison, demanding his release and a presidential pardon. In their statement at the time, she appealed to the President of the Republic to reconsider his case and issue a pardon.

In December 2021, the Ministry of Interior announced the opening of a new prison complex in Badr district, called "Badr Correction and Rehabilitation Center", which in turn contributes to improving the conditions of detention of prisoners and takes into account international standards on prisoners' rights.

The transfer of prisoners from the Tora prison complex to Badr began, but as they moved, complaints of poor conditions, treatment, deliberate medical negligence, and visits prevention began to emerge.

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Life is stripped away and suspended mourning "How does enforced disappearance become a deprivation of life and death altogether?"

Over the past weeks, a number of human rights organizations, in particular, the Campaign to Stop Enforced Disappearances, have registered cases of persons who have been subjected to enforced disappearance for more than three years, which leads us to continue to question the fate of thousands of enforced disappeared persons, as official bodies continue to deny the commission of the crime over the past years.

The Stop Enforced Disappearance Campaign, launched by the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms - an Egyptian rights organization - to document cases of enforced disappearances and provide the necessary support to victims and their families, announced on its Facebook page on January 25 that Mohamed Nasr and Mohamed Omran appeared before the Supreme State Security Prosecutor in Cairo on case No. 145 of 2023 restricting the security of a State. Over the following weeks, a number of other enforced disappearances emerged after disappearance for more than three years.

The practice of enforced disappearance in Egypt was expanded after the events of 3 July 2013, and was a predominant feature of the disappearance of persons for short periods before they appeared in the courts or within police stations. However, the practice of this crime in Egypt has continued to expand

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until thousands of citizens have been affected for many years, according to reports issued by the campaign, thus, it leads to the violation of the lives of thousands of bereaved families.

What makes enforced disappearance more serious than arrest and torture is that it is not a statutory occurrence or the effect of the disappearance over time. Our conversation here is not a defence of arrest and torture as less serious crimes, but rather a foundation of the fact that enforced disappearance is an exceptional crime that loses the identity of the disappeared person. Here, enforced disappearance can be regarded as worse than death itself, death means a person's loss of life, being allowed to say goodbye to loved ones, and completing their lives normally after a long or short period. Enforced disappearance leaves only an unknown fate, families with hope, who do not know the fate of their relatives if they have been killed or are still alive.

The crime of enforced disappearance can be considered atrocious because it entails the loss of the disappeared person's identity, which means that his life lacks any legal protection, a life without value, during which the disappeared becomes a vulnerable human being, as described by the Italian philosopher Giorgio Agamben, "where his life becomes naked, without any legal or political protection and his life elimination is not considered a crime" and thus the disappeared person is more likely to be tortured, abused or possibly killed.

Enforced disappearance is not limited to making it permissible to end the life of the enforced disappeared person, but it entails social, economic, and psychological consequences which their families suffer from. In most cases, the disappeared person is the breadwinner of the family. In many cases, the families of the disappeared faced a lot of violations, threats, possible disappearance and detention during their legitimate journey in the search for the fate of their families. confronted by a number of the families of the disappeared, headed by the founder of the Association of the Families of the Forcibly Disappeared, Ibrahim Metwally, who was arrested from Cairo International Airport in September 2017 while heading to an interview with the United Nations Group on Enforced Disappearances, which has been rotated in a number of cases and remains in custody.

Finally, it can be said here that the cruelest in enforced disappearance is that the families of the disappeared remain swinging between chasing the hope that their relatives will return alive, or denying that their relatives have been lost; an endless nightmare, and worse here, even if they have despair, they are also denied the right to mourn their relatives for years.

Perhaps the worst action done by those responsible for the crime is their denial of its existence in the first place. It is perhaps the authorities hope of impunity or a manifestation of the current circumstances to impose the power of security grip. They want to demolish the traces to reveal the truth. Thousands of citizens' lives remain restless. There is no way to know their fate, whether they are dead or alive. We 11

can't figure out what the enforced disappeared may have suffered for years, not even the suffering of their relatives from the effects of absenteeism and what they incur on the journey of research and investigation in the hope of ending such pointless waiting and muffled sadness.

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Saudi women between discrimination and "progressive steps".

Human rights organizations demand that Saudi Arabia end discrimination against women and men's manipulation Institutions: Grant them their rights without fear of attack or arrest

7 human rights organizations, relating to International Women's Day, 8 March 2023, called on the Saudi authorities to take further steps to end discrimination against women and dismantle the entire system of men's manipulation. The organizations explained that the personal status system, adopted last year on International Women's Day, formally codifies some manifestations of men's manipulation.

"The Saudi authorities should allow women activists to exercise their rights to participate in the defence of women's rights without fear of attack or arrest. Amnesty International explained that the Saudi personal status system, adopted a year ago on March 8, 2022, which the authorities described as a major reform, perpetuates the system of guardianship of men and codifies discrimination against women in most aspects of family life, while the world celebrates International Women's Day. In a detailed analysis, AI found that while the law introduces some positive reforms, such as establishing a minimum age for marriage, it also codifies certain practices inherent in the patriarchal system, fails 13

to provide women with adequate protection against domestic violence, and establishes a system of gender-based discrimination in marriage, divorce, custody, and inheritance.

"Although Prince Mohammed bin Salman has described it as a step towards progress and equality, the Saudi personal status system does not respect women's role in decisive decisions about their lives and those of their children, and perpetuates discrimination against them."

"To achieve real progress, the Saudi authorities should fulfill their obligations under international human rights law by urgently amending the personal status system and repealing provisions that discriminate against women, including those relating to the system of guardianship of men. "The Saudi authorities must also ensure that women enjoy equal rights and responsibilities with regard to marriage, divorce, custody, guardianship of their children and inheritance."

Prior to the adoption of the codified personal status system, family life issues were subject to the rational application of Islamic sharia by judges. Thus, the codification of the personal status system limits discriminatory and inconsistent judicial decisions on family matters. However, Amnesty International's analysis found that the system leaves wide space for judges to exercise their discretion.

Human Rights Watch said that while Mohammed bin Salman and other Saudi officials had upheld the law "inclusive and progressive." However, it establishes discriminatory practices and contains provisions that facilitate domestic violence. The law also uses ambiguous wording that gives judges broad discretion in adjudicating cases, which increases the likelihood of inconsistent interpretations.

Ruthna Begum, Senior Researcher on Women's Rights at Human Rights Watch, said: "On International Women's Day last year, the Saudi authorities announced that they had issued an advanced personal status regime, but instead simply enshrined discrimination against women in this legal text. The Government should amend this and other laws to ensure that women's rights are respected in practice".

Saudi women's rights activists have fought for decades for a personal status code and reported inconsistencies in provisions that discriminated against women. However, they had no opportunity to submit proposals for the personal status system, which was not available for publication before its release on March 8, 2022. Several women's rights activists were also barred from commenting publicly on women's rights because they were still on trial, detained, or on parole on politically motivated charges.

Women's rights defenders Loujain al-Hathloul, Nasimah al-Masters, and Samar al-Badawi are prohibited from traveling and subject to suspended sentences, allowing the authorities to return them to prison for any perceived criminal activity, including for women's rights. And in 2021.

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The list of solidarity organizations included Human Rights Ford, ALQST for Human Rights, Clearinghouse on Women's Issues (CWI), Amnesty International, Feminist Majority Foundation (FMF), and Human Rights Watch.

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Release the journalist Manal Agrama Journalists call for her release after months of pretrial detention.

Journalist Karem Yahya demanded from the Journalists' Union election candidates and the members of the General Assembly the release of journalist Manal Agrama, who was remanded in custody in case No. 1893 of 2022, restricting the security of the State.

"Today, I address people with human, professional, and trade union consciences who are candidates for the elections of Egyptian journalists and members of the Association of the Public Trade Union to take action and abandon silence ". He added: "Freedom for the friend and fellow journalist Manal Agrama," noting that he learned through contact with her family that "On Monday 5 March 2023, the State Security Prosecutor renewed her detention in custody for the last 15 days since 1 November 2022. The next time, 45 new days of detention will begin. " He continued: "Our colleague Manal (61) years needs to be beside her mother (90 years) after her father's death on 11 February 2023, and I hope that the Egyptian journalists with their sense of human conscience speak, raise their voices high, and intervene," He calls upon the candidates for this spring's elections and a general assembly.

He pointed out that "Manal continues to complain about being held in a cell with criminal women (other than female politicians locked up in cases of dissemination and opinion)". He continued: "You also 16

complain about the continued intransigence of both Al Qantir jailers (women) and prosecutors to refrain from delivering certain medicines and necessities necessary for her state of health, in particular, the effects of serious surgical operations on the spine and leg, as well as some necessary clothing, reading books and radio ". Yahya concluded his post: "Freedom for Manal, for female colleagues and all colleagues, for all detainees and prisoners of conscience".

Manal Agrama, the deputy editor of the Radio and Television magazine, was arrested by security forces from her home in the fifth gathering on 1 November, while she remained missing until her subsequent appearance in the prosecutor's office. Agrama faces charges of membership and financing of a terrorist group, incitement to commit a terrorist act, participation in a criminal agreement designed to commit a terrorist act, and the use of social media for the offense of promoting a terrorist act.

Al Sadat raises "questions about the preparations of political forces" for the 2024 presidential election: Are current laws capable of triggering an impartial battle? The next President should know "This is not the hero President time."

The head of the Reform and Development Party, Mohammed Anwar Al Sadat, asked questions about the upcoming presidential elections, stressing that the next electoral landscape needs to emerge befitting Egypt.

"It is clear that President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi began his campaign for the 2024 presidential election early by increasing some governorates (Ismailia/Sinai/Minya) with a number of offers and promises and the rest come in the coming days and weeks," Al Sadat said in a statement.

"Have the political and party forces and the intellectual group prepared candidates with some responsibility and competence? Will United Nations and international organizations be invited to follow, watch and monitor elections to be performed professionally? Is the National Commission with its current law and competence able to administer and supervise the elections impartially, transparently and with criteria applicable to all candidates? " Al Sadat continued: "The next president must know that he is not alone in possessing the truth as if we have multiple institutions. And this is no longer the time of a hero president or charismatic leader, Egypt needs a president who believes in the participation of the people through its elected parliamentary and local councils and independent institutions in order to reach the balance between the authorities. Is it time to have a president who can be asked and held accountable for what he is doing? " He stressed that these are questions and queries that need all of us to research and reflect on the forthcoming electoral landscape in a manner worthy of Egypt.

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"Freedom of Thought" Demands Prosecution to Re-Investigate the Death of Economic Researcher, Ayman Hadhoud.

On Sunday, the Foundation for Freedom of Thought and Expression applied to the Attorney General's Office, on behalf of the late economic researcher's brother, Ayman Hadhoud, and the plaintiff for civil damages, demanding that the investigation into the death of his brother be opened again, following the decision of the prosecutor of Nasr City to close the investigations and uphold the decision by the New Cairo Criminal Court.

It also demanded that the civil action initiated by Hadhoud's brother be brought against the administration of Al Abbasiya Mental Health Hospital, where he died. This coincides with the first anniversary of his death.

According to "The Freedom of Thought", the memorandum of reasons for the request to open the investigation again was based on several reasons, including "The Public Prosecutor's Office refusal to enable Hadhoud's brother to make any comments about witness statements and deliberately dismissed his defense team, and all his defense requests for access to the case papers were rejected. The Ministry of the Interior also rejected the request to unload the cameras around the property that the Ministry of the Interior claimed he attempted to steal. and the unloading of cameras in the police sections of the Palais des Niles and Al Amiriyah and the corridors of the Hospital for Mental Health in Al Abbasiyah ".

The Freedom of Thought and Expression Foundation, on behalf of Omar Hadhoud, demanded acceptance of the request to reopen and continue the investigations, while enabling Hadhoud's brother to photograph the entire case file, to enable him to make his requests in the case and establish a tripartite committee of experts, forensic physicians, and cardiologists to examine the anatomical description report and find out the causes of death in detail.

In February 2022, Hadhoud was arrested from the Zamalek area of Cairo, according to the Ministry of Interior in a subsequent statement after his death, in which they claimed he attempted to steal one of the apartments and this had been reported by the property's keeper, while Hudhoud chanted incomprehensible phrases, which made possible to question his mental powers.

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Supporting Maspero workers' demands.

Hala Fahmy "A TV presenter is Against the Suppression of Freedoms"

She was arrested in April 2022. She informed her lawyer that she had experienced much distress and violations.

As it approaches the completion of a year of preventive detention by April 2023, hopes remain unresolved and demands continue seeking the release of Hala Fahmy, who paid her freedom as a price for supporting Maspero workers and supporting their legitimate demands. She was arrested and imprisoned since April 2022.

Hala Fahmi is a broadcaster on Egyptian television channels who presented many programmes, and addressed many different political and social issues. She was also prevented from appearing on Egyptian television several times because of her objection to corruption, and her bias more than one time to the 25 January revolution during the early years of the revolution.

One of her most popular programmes provided on TV, Channel is Al Dameer programme (The Conscience), Cairo Today programme and children's programmes with political issues in their content to raise their awareness.

With the 25 January 2011 Egyptian revolution, Hala Fahmy's name rose high, as she was a staunch supporter of the revolution and its principles, and later strongly criticized the Muslim Brotherhood's 19

rule, specifically former President Mohamed Morsi, appearing on Sunday 2 December 2012 episode of her show "The Conscience", which bears its grudge to demonstrate the gravity of criticism of power in the official media because of the bias of those State-owned means, strongly criticized the Egyptian television focus on demonstrations to support President Mohamed Morsi and its disregard for Al Tahrir Square, which is described as the field of revolution.

"Al Dameer" programme, which was presented by Hala Fahmy on Channel 2, was suspended indefinitely after the episode in which she carried the shroud live, and her salary and the salaries of her staff were suspended.

The security forces arrested Hala Fahmy, in April 2022, and the prosecution decided to imprison her for 15 days pending case No. 441 of 2022, restricting the security of the Supreme State. The decision to arrest Fahmy coincided with the arrest of a journalist in the radio and television magazine, Safaa alKorbagy, who is currently being investigated in the same case.

The security services broke into al-Korbagy's house at dawn on Thursday, April 21, 2022, and took her to an unknown location. They remained missing for nearly three days, contrary to the provisions of the Constitution and the law, until they appeared in the prosecutor's office.

Mahmoud Kamel, a member of the board of the journalists' union, demanded the release of journalist Safaa al-Korbagy because she had an 85% disability on one foot and leakage on the other foot.

In addition to her confinement, she was dismissed from her work in the magazine, "Radio and Television", three months prior to her arrest on sick leave, without receiving any warnings from the magazine concerning her interruption from work, noting that al-Korbagy’s case applies to the text of article 62 of the Implementing Regulations of the Disabled Persons' Rights Act No. 10 of 2018, which states in its sixth paragraph: "A worker may carry out remote work, with the approval of the competent authority and without the need for the worker to be present at the workplace, on the understanding that the competent administrative authority shall be provided with the full data requested by the employees subject to the telework regime."

Prior to the arrest of Hala Fahmy, she suffered from restrictions at her work, in a repeated attempt to forcibly silence her voice; In March 2021, the National Information Authority referred her to the investigation and decided to suspend her from work in reserve for 3 months, with half the wages paid, pending the completion of the investigation, in the memorandum submitted against her by the head of the television sector. During the same month, the head of Egyptian Channel 2, Ahmed Mustafa, in an official address, directed the supervisor of television sector studios not to accept any bookings for Fahmy's "Al Dameer" programme, or any other programmes by director Wafaa Barakat.

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In a video posted on YouTube on 28 February 2022, Fahmy revealed that she and a fellow director Wafaa Barakat had been illegally prevented from accessing the radio and television building for supporting protest movements in Maspero. She asserted that her standing alongside her colleagues to claim their wasteful rights was the reason for violating her own rights and that her sit-in in the TV Head Office was a message to encourage them not to be afraid, not to get intimidated by the threats, and to continue to claim their rights.

Since the first days of her detention at Al Qanter Women's Prison for her pending investigation in case 441 of 2022 of the Supreme State Security Prosecutor, Hala Fahmy has been deliberately subjected, according to her lawyer, to a violation of her rights as a pretrial accused, in violation of the Egyptian Constitution, the Prison Organization Act and its Executive Regulations.

Violations varied from forcing her to sleep on the floor despite the existence of an empty bed where she could sleep on. She was also forced to walk through the amber barefoot, resulting in humidity in her bones. In addition, she was prevented from reading, writing, going to the prison library, and from exercising for a whole month. The guards prevented women prisoners from talking to her, and there is inadequate ventilation, which, as described, is not suitable for human use.

This prompted her to announce her hunger strike on May 12, 2022, in protest against what she called "indoor abuse." Since the arrest of the broadcaster, Hala Fahmy, in April 2022, she remains in custody and it is renewed periodically in an unjustified manner.

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The beginning... Sale of 32 State-owned companies The Egyptian government begins implementing the terms of the Monetary Fund and begins selling!.

At a press conference on February 8, 2023, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly announced the offering of shares to 32 companies, over the course of a year starting from the current quarter of 2023, until the end of the first quarter of 2024, whether the offering is general through the stock exchange, or a strategic investor, or both, explaining that the 32 companies in which ratios would be introduced included 18 economic sectors.

The list of companies includes famous names well-known to Egyptians: "Banque du Caire, United Bank, Arab African International Bank, as well as Misr Technology Services for Trade (MTS), El Nasr Housing & Development, Al-Mostakbal Company for Urban Development and Misr Concrete Development Company". The list of companies also includes Helwan Fertilizer Company, National Petroleum Products Company, Egyptian Propylene and Polypropylene Production Company, Nasr Mining Company, Egyptian Ethylene, and Derivatives Company (Ethidco), Petroleum Drilling Company, Egyptian Linear Alkyl Benzene (Elab) and Sinai Manganese Company.

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Other companies added to the list: The Egyptian Ferrous Alloys, Canal Company for Mooring and Lights, Port Said Container and Cargo Handling Co, Damietta Container and Cargo Handling Co, Salhia Investment and Development Co, hotels owned by the Ministry of Public Business sector, Misr Life Insurance, Misr Insurance, as well as the Gabal El-Zayt Wind Power Plant, Zafarana Wind Plant, and BenSuef Power Station Station, "Safi" for water packaging and development of chemical industries Paints & Chemical Industries Company (PACHIN) S.A.E., Alamal Alsharif Plastics, and Misr pharma.

The announcement of the sale of these companies is part of the measures approved by the Egyptian government in response to the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) requirements for the latest $3 billion loan. In March 2022 for the fourth time since 2016, Egypt applied to the International Monetary Fund for a loan. Negotiations lasted 7 months until the Fund agreed in October to grant $3 billion over 46 months so that Egypt receives a loan payment every 6 months after confirming its implementation of the Fund's terms.

During negotiations with the Fund, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly announced in May 2022 that the government aims to empower the private sector and increase its participation in investments in Egypt up to 65% over the next three years. He also announced the government's intention to put state-owned companies up for sale to the private sector with the aim of raising $40 billion in foreign investment over four years by $10 billion each year. In November 2022, the President of the Republic announced the forthcoming offering of shares of bottled drinks firm Safi and fuel retailer Wataniya to the National Service of the Armed Forces on the Stock Exchange.

In January 2023, the IMF revealed details of its agreement with the Egyptian government on the new loan, which was agreed upon "The permanent shift to a flexible exchange rate system, that is, the full liberalization of the pound rate, which the Government did in January, and the dollar reached over 30 pounds." "Cancel support for Central Bank lending programs for investors and companies, which the Central Bank has already applied by eliminating support for private sector enterprise initiatives, under which industrial companies were granted 8% interest loans."

The agreement also included extensive structural reforms to reduce the State's role in the economy and the sale of State-owned assets, which Madbouly announced at the last conference by approving the sale of 32 old authentic Egyptian companies in addition to the full implementation of linking fuel prices to global prices, as well as considering linking domestic natural gas prices to global prices, and imposing additional fuel taxes ".

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During March, The Women's Month We recall strong and inspiring women who paid the price for a dream of justice and a State that protects everyone and safeguards freedom of opinion and expression

Marwa Arafa

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Safaa al-Korbagy

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Manal Agrama

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Huda Abdel-Moniem

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