Military tribunal for El-Shater MUSLIM Brotherhood Deputy Supreme Guide Khayrat El-Shater and several other memebers were referred Tuesday to a military court. Government sources said that El-Shater is accused of engaging in money laudering and membership of a "prohibited" organisation: the Muslim Brotherhood. MB leaders on their part, described the decision as, " politically motivated and a flagrant violation of the rights of citizens and their families as well as creating a state of instability and harms Egypt interests inside and outside". Five Muslim Brotherhood leaders arrested over the past several weeks have also had their detention prolonged by the State Security Higher Court. Those detained include Hassan Malek, a businessman, Ahmed Ashraf, head of an Islamic publishing house, Mohamed Baligh, a physician, Ahmed Shousha, an engineer and Mohamed Hafez, a pharmacist. The latest crackdown on the Brotherhood involved a decision by the prosecutor-general to freeze the assets of 29 businessmen and their immediate families considered close to the movement. The decision marked the first time such measures, usually reserved for cases of fraud and embezzlement, were taken against the country's largest opposition group. Women for president? EGYPT'S Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa has denied press reports that quoted him as saying Islam does not bar women from becoming presidents. The state-owned daily Akhbar Al-Yom had published a fatwa by Gomaa on 27 January saying Islam forbids women from becoming heads of states because it would require them to lead prayer, which can only be done by a man. "This ruling does not refer to the head of the modern state but, rather ,to the traditional role of the caliph as both a secular head of state and imam of the Muslims," Gomaa said in a prepared statement. "The head of state in a contemporary Muslim society, whether he is a president, prime minister or even king, is no longer required or expected to lead Muslims in prayer. Therefore, it is permissible for women to hold the highest office in modern Muslim nations," he added. The original fatwa merely said a woman cannot be a head of state without specifying whether this applied to traditional or modern leadership positions. Angry truckers ON SUNDAY, hundreds of angry truck drivers demonstrated in front of the Obour toll station on the Cairo-Ain Sokhna desert road to protest against the increase in toll prices. Truck drivers are now obliged to pay at least LE500 to cross the Ain Sokhna road, regardless of the cargo. "Officials told us that if we don't like it, we should change our route," one of the drivers said. "It doesn't make any sense that I pay LE1,600 to take my cargo across, only to sell it for only LE1,000," said another driver. Death by torture SEVENTY-NINE people have reportedly died as a result of torture in police stations in Egypt during a five-year period. According to the report issued by the Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights, there were 263 torture cases in police stations in Egypt from 2000 to 2005. The organisation condemned all kinds of torture inside police stations and state security headquarters and called for an investigation to be launched. It stated the high number of torture victims in Egypt indicated that those responsible were not being brought to justice. "The fact that torture victims are not allowed to take any legal action against those responsible adds to the problem," read the report issued on Sunday. "Torture has become a phenomenon in Egypt and something has to be done about it," it added. And more TWO anti-riot police officers have been charged with torturing a suspect while in police custody. A torture video, one of a series recently discovered and published by the press, shows a man being tortured by a police officer inside a police station. A still from the video published in the independent daily Al-Masry Al-Youm last week showed a young man in his 20s being repeatedly beaten on the back of the head while being interrogated. The video was also published on the Internet. The victim, 19-year-old Ihab Magdi, was reported to be a burglar. An investigation is also underway to determine the identity of a voice in the video allegedly giving the order to the two anti- riot officers to torture Magdi. The attorney-general ordered the new detentions, following the detention of two policemen on 27 December on charges of sexually assaulting a minibus driver after a graphic video was posted on the web. Compiled by Salonaz Sami
