Science eye above EGYPT will soon launch its first ever scientific research satellite, writes Mahmoud Murad. EgyptSat-1, manufactured in cooperation with Ukrainian specialists, will be launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on 17 April. A high-level delegation, including High Education Minister Hani Hilal, will attend the launch. The satellite is expected to circle the Earth at an altitude of 670km for 45 days before it reaches its final orbit, where it will become operational after one year of experimental testing. EgyptSat-1, weighing 170kg, has remote sensing devices that will allow it to transmit precision images to a reception station in Aswan. It is expected to fly over Egypt twice a day. The satellite was manufactured in Ukraine which signed an agreement with Egypt to supply it with space technology. Egypt is planning to produce two more satellites in the next three years, gradually increasing its input in the design and operation phases. Preparations for the launch involve highly technical and legal details, involving 4,000 documents, specifying Egypt's property rights and the scope for development and improvement. The manufacturing of a second satellite, EgyptSat-2 has already begun in Egyptian factories, while EgyptSat-3 will be entirely made in Egypt within the next three years. Egypt has signed other agreements for cooperation in space technology with Italy, Russia and China, and is building a space control station in Al-Qahira Al-Gadida in East Cairo. The cabinet is discussing plans to create an Egyptian Space Agency and will submit its proposal to the People's Assembly. The new agency will be independent and given special status under the law. Spy case adjourned A STATE security court yesterday indefinitely adjourned the trial of Mohamed Essam El-Attar who faces charges of spying for Israel. At the opening session on 24 February, the 31-year-old El-Attar pleaded innocent, insisting his confession was made under duress. Along with El-Attar, the court is trying in absentia three Israeli accomplices, allegedly agents of the Israeli intelligence service Mossad. They have been identified as Daniel Levi, Kemal Kosba and Tuncay Bubay. The latter two are believed to hold dual Turkish-Israeli citizenship. When the court resumed its deliberations yesterday, El-Attar appeared in his usual white cotton T-shirt and trousers, talked to the press from the dock, again denying the charges against him. However, during the hearing, State Security Prosecutor Hani Hammouda accused El-Attar of betraying his religion and country. El-Attar's lawyer rejected the charges and asked the court for time to prove his client's innocence. Reports leaked to the press claim El-Attar confessed to collaborating with Mossad, providing information on Arab communities during his stays in Turkey and Canada. According to prosecutors, El-Attar confessed to spying for Israel and gave a detailed account of his role in collecting information about Egyptians and other Arabs living in Turkey and Canada in return for money. He also received instructions from the three Israelis, said to be intelligence officers, to recruit Christian Egyptian immigrants in Canada. Ibrahim El-Bassiouni argued he had evidence of his client's innocence but needed time in order to obtain the necessary proof. El-Attar was arrested on 1 January at Cairo International Airport by Egyptian police and charged with being part of an Israeli spy network that was attempting to infiltrate expatriate Arab communities in Turkey and Canada. If convicted, he could face up to 25 years in jail. Black day THE CAIRO Judges Club is currently working on a report which will assess the electoral process on the day the public referendum on the constitutional amendments was held, reports Mona El-Nahhas. Judges clubs, which are critical of the amendments, have described Monday's referendum a day of national mourning, calling on all Egyptians to be dressed in black on that day. Thousands of judges were excluded from supervising the electoral process during the referendum. As such, the Cairo Judges Club set up a committee to evaluate the day's proceedings. In its evaluation, the committee will rely on the testimonies of dozens of judges who supervised the main polling stations. The committee will form branch committees at the provinces to receive complaints from voters and human rights groups which took part in the monitoring. Incidents of judges ordered not to be present at polling stations were reported. It was also reported that judges who were commissioned by the Higher Electoral Committee to man the main polling stations were excluded from supervising while the voting process was under way. The report will be presented during the extraordinary general assembly of the club late next month. The assembly will also discuss issues related to the judiciary.
