Compensation for soldier IN AN unprecedented move, Cairo's Court of Appeals last week ordered Israel to pay $10 million to the family of Amer Saad, an Egyptian soldier killed by Israeli tank fire on the Egypt-Israel border five years ago. The incident occurred on 17 November 2004 when three Egyptian soldiers in the frontier city of Rafah came under fire from an Israeli tank stationed across the border. Two of the soldiers were killed instantly, while the third succumbed to injuries shortly afterward. Saad's parents subsequently filed a lawsuit against both the Egyptian interior minister and the Israeli ambassador in which they demanded $10 million in compensation. The case was initially rejected on the basis that the incident was deemed accidental and because the ambassador enjoys diplomatic immunity from prosecution. Saad's family, however, appealed, claiming the shooting was deliberate and constituted a violation of the Egypt-Israel Camp David peace agreement. The judge ordered monetary compensation to be paid out in the same amount -- $10 million -- as that set for Libyan agents convicted in the recently- concluded Lockerbie airline bombing case. According to the Court of Appeals, Article 31 of the Vienna Agreement regarding diplomatic immunity does not apply in this case. The court also found that the 1979 peace treaty bans either side from using force. The court absolved the Interior Ministry of all responsibility for the incident since the Camp David accord strictly limits the movements of Egyptian military forces deployed on the border, preventing the Interior Ministry from supervising the area. LE200,000 for Ismail THE Interior Ministry has been ordered to pay Gamila Ismail, the wife of Ghad Party founder Ayman Nour, LE200,000 for financial and psychological damage suffered after the party's headquarters was set on fire during a riot in November 2008. Ismail, the original owner of the party headquarters, sued Interior Minister Habib El-Adli for laxity in the performance of the security apparatus on the day of the riot. In the lawsuit, Ismail sought LE10 million in compensation. In her first reaction to Monday's Cairo Southern Court ruling, Ismail expressed her satisfaction with what she called a "fair ruling." Trial postponed CAIRO Criminal Court has delayed until 21 November the retrial of an Egyptian woman, known as the "Iron Lady", who swindled Egyptians of LE587 million (approximately $100 million), then fleeing the country for 22 years. "The trial of Hoda Abdel-Moneim and the manager of her companies, Sayed Askar, will resume on 21 November after the court approved her lawyer's request to delay the hearings," legal sources said. Abdel-Moneim had lived in Greece since fleeing Egypt in 1987, escaping charges of forgery and embezzlement of bank loans. She was sentenced in absentia in 1996 to 64 years in prison. Ragaai Attiya, Abdel-Moneim's lawyer, claimed his client had repaid all her debts before returning to Egypt. "Her return should be used as an example to make others who have fled abroad return as well," Attiya said. Fatal factional clash A COPT was killed and three others were injured in a fight in the village of Deir Mawas in Minya governorate on Monday. Coptic residents of the village crowded in front of the public hospital where the victim was being treated. They gathered outside a police blockade and threatened to stone the officers if they were not allowed to enter the hospital. Bishop Michael Gaber of the local church stepped in to diffuse the situation. The crowd grew angrier when they heard that Hanna Rizq had died from his injuries. They were soon joined by more Copts in what seemed to be a civil disobedience act against discrimination. "A bus driver was fighting with my brother. Suddenly he stabbed him with a knife and ran away," said Maher Hanna, Rizq's brother. Minya has frequently been a site of conflict between Christians and Muslims. Bus drivers may strike again BUS drivers are threatening to strike on Saturday 3 October after their demands were not met. The strike will coincide with the beginning of the new academic year, stranding thousands of school and university students. Last month, bus drivers went on strike, calling for the establishment of their own union and an increase in salaries and bonuses. They also said they would not pay traffic tickets, citing the constant breakdown of their vehicles. Compiled by Reem Leila
