EGYPT: 3 Important Posts...

Report against NSF leaders referred to Egypt's state security prosecution

Egypt's prosecutor-general sends a report accusing prominent National Salvation Front (NSF) leaders of supporting anti-government groups to Supreme State Security Prosecution for investigation

Ahram Online , Thursday 7 Feb 2013

Prosecutor-General Talaat Abdullah has referred on Thursday a report against National Salvation Front (NSF) leaders – accusing them of supporting vigilante groups to overthrow the government – to the Supreme State Security Prosecution for investigation.

The report, filed by lawyer Essam Khalil, accuses Constitution Party head Mohamed ElBaradei, Popular Current leader Hamdeen Sabbahi, Conference Party head Amr Moussa, Constitution Party member Gamila Ismail, Wafd Party head El-Sayed El-Badawi and other figures in the NSF for inciting the public against President Mohamed Morsi.

Khalil said in his report that the NSF leaders support groups such as the ‘Black Bloc’ that call for the fall of the Muslim Brotherhood rule, by providing "political cover to their terrorist actions."

He also said that the NSF leaders are "plotting to kill" youth members of the Muslim Brotherhood. 

In addition, Khalil's report accused the NSF leaders of "purposefully destructing the state's institutions by mobilising thugs against the Egyptian police."

The NSF leaders aim to stir up unrest and insecurity in Egypt and damaging the national economy, Khalil stated in the report.

Protests and riots erupted in Egypt on 25 January with the second anniversary of the revolution and the announcement of the Port Said football verdict a day later.

The clashes in several Egyptian cities over the past two weeks, mainly Port Said and Suez, left over 50 people dead and hundreds injured.

The NSF has been a prominent opposition group against Morsi's government and has refused his call for dialogue last week in the aftermath of the deadly events.

The NSF and several opposition groups have called for mass protests on Friday to ‘topple the regime’ in an escalation to press for fulfilling their demands that include dismissing the cabinet and the general prosecutor. 

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Egypt presidency condemns killing fatwa as 'terrorism'

Egypt's presidential office condemns political violence and hate speech, following a recently released religious edict that permits the killing of political opponents

Ahram Online , Thursday 7 Feb 2013

Egypt’s presidential office has condemned the practice of or invitation to political violence, as said in a Thursday statement. 

The released presidential statement comes two days after a cleric from Al-Azhar issued a religious edict – on air – giving the green light to kill opposition leaders Mohamed ElBaradei and Hamdeen Sabbahi.

"Practicing religious violence or threatening to do so has become one of the gravest challenges facing the Arab Spring," the presidential statement said.  "Egyptians must join hands to avoid the danger of civil strife and face attempts to spread division."

"Some are promoting and inciting political violence while others who claim to speak in the name of religion are permitting ‘killing’ based on political differences and this is terrorism," read the statement.

The presidency "stresses on its complete rejection of hate speech which attributes itself to religion," calling on all national forces, religious institutions and intellectuals to stand together against "inciting" language, the statement asserted.

Sources told Al-Ahram Arabic language news website that security will be increased at the residences of prominent opposition forces, especially after the assassination of leading Tunisian leftist politician Chokri Belaid in Tunisia on Wednesday.

Sources told Reuters that forces were in fact stationed in front of both ElBaradei and Sabbahi's homes.

Egypt is undergoing a period of political unrest since the second anniversary of the 25 January Revolution when clashes between protesters, rioters and police left over 50 dead – mostly protesters – in the days following the anniversary.

The Egyptian government is accused by the opposition of relying on Mubarak-era repression in the face of popular discontent across the country.

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Incitement of violence against Egypt's opposition condemned

A religious edict sanctioning death for National Salvation Front opposition members sparks outrage and controversy; Islamists join calls for action against incitement

Ahram Online , Thursday 7 Feb 2013

Following controversial statements by an Al-Azhar professor claiming the opposition should be punished by death for attempting to bring down a leader elected by the public, a large number of Egyptians — Islamists and non-Islamists alike — have expressed their condemnation.

Mahmoud Shaaban, an Al-Azhar professor who also hosts a television show on the Islamic satellite Al-Hafez channel, made the statements, considered a religious fatwa, last week directly targeted at National Salvation Front (NSF) leaders Mohamed ElBaradei and Hamdeen Sabbahi, granting a green light for their killing.

Another Islamic, ultraconservative cleric, Wagdi Ghoneim, echoed Shaaban's statements by calling on all Muslims to "kill the thugs, criminals, and thieves who burn the country."

In response, ElBaradei on his official Twitter account Wednesday criticised the government for its silence over the statements made against him.

On Thursday afternoon, however, Prime Minister Hesham Kandil expressed his rejection of such "extreme" statements, stating that such statements directly incite murder and raise dissent and unrest in the country.

Kandil added that the Cabinet is taking the necessary legal procedures to take action against anyone who issues or promotes incentives to use violence against opponents.

In an attempt to defuse the issue, Kandil underlined the need to end bloodshed through national dialogue, saying efforts to proactively work towards the good of the nation were vital "now more than ever."

Egypt's Ministry of Interior assigned a security presence outside ElBaradie's home in the New Cairo district Thursday.

Shaaban's statements, meanwhile, met widespread condemnation across large number of Egyptians, especially in light of the killing of an opposition politician in Tunisia Wednesday, Shokri Belaid.

Moderate Islamist and Strong Egypt Party head Abdel Moneim Aboul-Fotouh stated Thursday: "Statements made by some ignorant people about killing opposition members is a serious crime that needs to be dealt decisively. Al-Azhar needs to stand up to such incidents by promoting the spread of knowledge and understanding."

More conservative Islamist leaders have also stood up to the statements. Salafist El-Nour Party spokesperson Nader Bakkar called on Al-Azhar's grand imam to take action against Shaaban.

Bakkar underlined that it was everybody's right to oppose the president. If this were not the case, anyone who dared oppose former president Hosni Mubarak would have faced similar death threats.

"We condemn the assassination of prominent Tunisian opposition figure Shokri Belaid, who was shot dead in front of his house. It was a heinous crime that must not happen again,” Muslim Brotherhood spokesperson Ahmed Aref said Wednesday.

Brotherhood lawyer Abdel-Moneim Abdel-Maksoud demanded a speedy process in Tunisia to ensure the perpetrators are put on trial.

Abdel-Maksoud also refuted reports in the Egyptian media that Islamists had drawn up a hit list of liberal politicians and media figures.

Al-Gamaa Al-Islamiya leader Aboud El-Zomor said, "The practice of politics has to be carried out peacefully. Assassinations are totally unacceptable."

El-Nour Party Shura Council (parliament's upper house) representative Abdullah Betran stated his party's condemnation of the killing in Tunisia. "We condemn all forms of violence and the use of weapons in the face of ideology," he stated.

 Long Live, Egypt!