Lawsuit quashed THE SUPREME Constitutional Court (SCC) on Sunday quashed a motion to dissolve the Constituent Assembly, which drafted the constitution. Explaining the verdict, the court said it turned down the case since the assembly no longer exists. The assembly was automatically dissolved after it completed the drafting of the constitution, which was endorsed via a nationwide referendum. The SCC said it would rule on the other case next week which calls for dissolving the Shura Council after getting an advisory report from the commissioners' authority. In its report, the authority said it would decide whether the law under which the Shura Council polls were staged conforms with the recently-endorsed constitution. The SCC was supposed to pass its rulings regarding these two cases in December last year. However, a siege which Islamists imposed around its headquarters pressured the SCC to suspend its activities.
Probe of satirist PROSECUTOR-General Talaat Abdallah on Monday ordered an investigation into satirical TV anchor Bassem Youssef on charges of defaming President Mohamed Morsi. In their lawsuit, 12 individuals accused Youssef of insulting the president publicly in his programme Al-Bernameg which is aired on the privately-owned CBC satellite channel on Fridays. In the episode aired on 1 March, Youssef screened segments of the president's recent interview and said that Morsi deserves Oscar awards for best acting, editing, directing, screenplay and picture. The plaintiffs said that they were psychologically harmed by such slander directed at the head of the state. Hearing the plaintiffs' testimony, the prosecution asked CBC to submit a copy of the episode in question. Youssef faced similar accusations in December last year.
Kandil in Iraq PRIME Minister Hisham Kandil visited Iraq on Monday together with six ministers and around 60 businessmen to meet Iraqi officials. Kandil and his Iraqi counterpart Nuri Al-Maliki discussed various political issues including Egyptian-Iraqi relations and regional developments. After the talks, Kandil and Al-Maliki held a joint press conference in which they expressed their common desire to push bilateral cooperation in all fields especially those related to petroleum, trade and investment. Kandil also clarified that the process of obtaining visas will be facilitated for Iraqi businessmen and tourists willing to visit Egypt. (see p.9)
Re-trial of Mubarak ON SUNDAY, the Cairo Appeals Court set 13 April as the date for the re-trial of former president Hosni Mubarak, former interior minister Habib Al-Adli and his six top aides in the case of killing peaceful demonstrators in January 2011. The re-trial will also include charges of corruption and of exporting natural gas to Israel at prices less than its market value. The re-trial came in response to a court ruling passed in January by the Cassation Court. In June 2012, the Criminal Court sentenced both Mubarak and Al-Adli to life in jail, while Al-Adli's six aides were cleared of charges due to lack of evidence that would convict them. According to Farid Al-Deeb, head of Mubarak's defence team, the court panel will not rely on the same evidence which was previously presented.
Losing popularity RESULTS of student elections in Egyptian universities this week showed that the Muslim Brotherhood, which was one of the most successful political movements in student politics under former president Hosni Mubarak, has lost ground. At Ain Shams University, MB students lost to independent candidates. The MB had seen earlier defeats in Alexandria and Assiut universities. The results came as the MB faces mounting political criticism nationwide.
Fighting for beards DOZENS of bearded policemen and their supporters held a peaceful march from the headquarters of the Interior Ministry to the Shura Council to press for implementing a ruling by the Higher Administrative Court that they should return to work. During the march, the policemen called for equality with their colleagues, vowing to continue their sit-in until they achieve their legal rights. The Shura Council's human rights committee held a session on Tuesday to discuss their demands.
