Syrian crisis discussed THE SYRIAN issue topped the agenda in Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmi's conference with Arab foreign ministers this week. In his meeting with his Iraqi counterpart Hoshyar Zebari on Monday, Fahmi discussed the Syrian and Palestinian issues in addition to bilateral relations and ways to boost them in the economic and trade fields. Zebari reiterated his country's support for the will and choice of the Egyptian people. Fahmi also met with his Algerian counterpart Mourad Medelci on the same day. The two ministers discussed ways to boost bilateral relations as well as important regional issues including the situation on the African continent, the Syrian crisis and the Palestinian file, as the Foreign Ministry spokesman Badr Abdel-Atti stated after the meeting. Fahmi and Medelci agreed to take steps to prepare for the next meeting of the joint committee of the two states in order to give a genuine boost to bilateral relations. Fahmi also met with Bahraini Foreign Minister Khaled Bin Ahmed Al-Khalifa, with whom he discussed bilateral relations in the political, economic and trade fields. Al-Khalifa re-emphasised the support of the king and people of Bahrain to the aspirations of the Egyptian people. Abdel-Atti stated that the two officials also talked about regional files, namely the Syrian crisis in the light of the Arab League decision to back a strike against Syria, and the Palestinian file. Fahmi and Al-Khalifa agreed that it is important for the current Palestinian-Israeli negotiations to lead to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the borders of the pre-1967 war with East Jerusalem as its capital.
MB to be dissolved MINISTER of Social Solidarity Ahmed Al-Boraai announced during a press conference at the ministry headquarters that it is expected the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) association will be dissolved following court ruling ordering it, reports Mona El-Fiqi. “By the beginning of next week, the final decision regarding the destiny of the association will be made,” Al-Boraai said. The prosecutor-general has accused the MB of storing weapons at its Muqattam headquarters, an act which is legally prohibited by the associations law. But to issue a decree ordering the closure of the MB, Al-Boraai explained that the Federation of Civil Associations should be first consulted. The federation has in fact already approved such step during a recent meeting. However, Al-Boraai noted that he has to wait for a copy of the decision. Besides, the ministry is obliged by law to send the association a notice asking its founders to clarify the legal status of the association. “Three notices have already been sent and we have got no answer until now,” Al-Boraai said, warning that today (Thursday) is the final deadline. Al-Boraai stressed that his ministry has no choice but to abide by the law to avoid any possible administrative appeal contesting the legality of its decisions. “In the light of the severe international criticism to the situation in Egypt, the government should be careful not to pass such a decree before it is studied thoroughly.“
Abdel-Fattah tried THE TRIAL of political activist Alaa Abdel-Fattah, for attacking and burning the campaign headquarters of former presidential candidate Ahmed Shafik on May 2012, was adjourned to 3 November. “The case was fabricated by the Muslim Brotherhood group and it is politically motivated,” wrote Abdel-Fattah on his Twitter account after the court session on Tuesday. During the hearing, attended by a number of human rights lawyers, opposition activists, international observers and supporters and friends of the accused, the five defendants who appeared in court denied all charges. The judge postponed the case to 3 November to hear more witnesses and examine evidence. Among the defendants presented on Tuesday was Alaa's sister Mona Seif. In March, the Islamist-affiliated prosecutor-general Talaat Abdallah referred Abdel-Fattah to the Criminal Court for “involvement in sabotaging and burning former presidential candidate Ahmed Shafik's campaign headquarters”. Earlier in the same month, Abdel-Fattah was summoned for questioning by the prosecution in relation to protests outside the headquarters of the Muslim Brotherhood in Cairo on 22 March. Abdel-Fattah had also been arrested on 13 November 2011 on charges of participating in violence during protests in front of the Maspero television building in Cairo, which led to the death of 27 people. He was detained until his release pending investigation in December that year. The case was dropped in April after the evidence was deemed insufficient.
