The Times Egypt locks up 600 children for months in freezing dungeons The Times reported on Friday that More than 600 children are being held in a squalid, freezing underground prison attached to a police camp near Cairo, it has emerged, in revelations that will further damage the reputation of Egypt's security forces. The boys, aged between 14 and 17, are being detained in Banha, 25 miles north of the capital, on a base run by the central security forces, a paramilitary branch of the police responsible for riot control. Teenagers are accused of joining terrorist group, blocking roads and assaulting police officers. Read more: http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/world/middleeast/article4301445.ece Bloomberg Israel Gas Deals With Egypt, Turkey Will Happen, U.S. Envoy Says Israel will be able to export its natural gas to Egypt, Jordan and Turkey, overcoming political obstacles to such agreements, said a U.S. official involved in energy talks in the Middle East, Bloomberg reported. "We have a remarkable situation where the self-interest of each of the parties is remarkably similar in the energy sphere," said Amos Hochstein, U.S. State Department special envoy and coordinator for international energy affairs. Hochstein added new energy ties in the Middle East will help alleviate some of those diplomatic tensions. "Energy won't be a leader of the political process, but it can be a key incentive to move the geopolitical positions in a more positive direction," he said. Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-12-18/israel-gas-deals-with-egypt-turkey-will-happen-u-s-envoy-says.html Press TV Human Rights Watch denounces Egypt military trials Press TV reported the Human Rights Watch (HRW) report, which has censured Egyptian authorities over referring hundreds of civilians to military courts based on a decree by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. "Curtailing the use of military courts to try civilians was one of the few tangible gains of the 2011 revolution, but that's out the window now," the HRW's Middle East and North Africa Director Sarah Leah Whitson said in reference to the uprising three years ago that ousted dictator Hosni Mubarak. "Militarizing the trials of civilians, including children, is taking Egypt in the wrong direction, and doing so retroactively compounds the abuse," Whitson stated. On October 27, Sisi issued a decree that placed all "public and vital facilities" under military jurisdiction for the coming two years. Whitson commented, "President Sisi should repeal his October decree before more damage is done if he has any concern for preserving Egypt's reputation and the new constitution he has sworn to protect." Read more: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2014/12/18/390861/hrw-slams-egypt-over-military-trials/ The Jerusalem Post Famous Egyptian writer says Hamas is "the real enemy," not Israel The Israeli newspaper published the statements of the Egyptian writer and playwright Ali Salem, who has a record of peaceful statements regarding Israel, saying Israel is Egypt's "friend" and Hamas is "the real enemy." It is not in Israel's interest for Egypt to suffer from a lack of security, Salem said on Al-Arabiya TV in an interview Wednesday, the Egyptian El-Watan website reported. Salem has visited Israel and called for the normalization of relations, drawing strong reactions from critics. The real enemy is also poverty, ignorance, and disease, he said, adding, "Egypt will defeat terrorism no matter how long it takes." Read more: http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Famous-Egyptian-writer-says-Hamas-is-the-real-enemy-not-Israel-385120 BBC Egypt court jails dozens of Islamists over violence Dozens of Egyptian Islamists accused of torching churches and police stations after the ousting of former President Mohammed Morsi have been jailed for up to 15 years. Prosecutors said the 40 men were involved in attacks which swept through the southern city of Assiut last year. The court acquitted 61 others involved in the case. Read more: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-30532889 Al Monitor Egypt universities outsource security There has been a tug-of-war between Egyptian students and state authorities as the government attempts to control student actions within the framework of tightening the noose on all state institutions. Authorities believe that student movements and ongoing protests on university campuses threaten the state's power. Despite the blockades and clampdowns by successive Egyptian regimes to contain student movements, students have played a part in every political event since the 1920s and are a key factor in shaping the Egyptian political scene since Jan. 25, 2011. The Egyptian state attempted to maintain its power over students, whether through Muslim Brotherhood's advocates who refused to let the movement be pushed aside from its leading role, or the supporters of the civilian movement who objected to the military's intervention in the political process and in the security forces, to face the escalating violence during the 2013-14 school year. Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/12/egypt-university-private-contractor-failure-security.html#ixzz3ML2GvF00
