The Ides of March

         Although there has been no shortage of depressing news with regards to politics in 2017, the release of the modern pharaoh  Hosni Mubarak on March 13 is some of the worst, in my view. Al Ahram put it better than I could have, noting 

"The former autocrat ruled Egypt from 1981 until a popular uprising ousted him on 11 February 2011."

In a somewhat incredulous statement, Mubarak's lawyer Farid al Deeb claims that his client owns no money or property outside of Egypt, and is now borrowing American President Donald Trump's phrase of "false news" in defense of his client. Meanwhile, amidst these denials, a Swiss bank states that they have frozen close to 500 million in Egyptian assets linked to the Mubarak family. 

          In 2012, relatively free elections ushered into power the Islamist leader, Mohammed Morsi’s administration, which was short lived as his leadership was deposed by General Abdel Fattah El-Sisi in 2013.  Since then, the Sisi administration has drafted draconian laws that prevented illegal protests, which was a strategic law to prevent any dissenting views hence increased the number of political arrests. The police made more recent arrests of Muslim Brotherhood militia personnel who made several attacks on the police and army in Cairo through exchange of fire leading to the death of a civilian. In good news, the Egyptian Supreme Court has declared portions of the controversial protest law unconstitutional. 

            The New York Times piece on the prominent youth leader (Ahmed Maher) during the 2011 uprising, explains how Egyptian judges used draconian laws to find him guilty of illegal demonstration and ‘thuggery.'  Maher was sentenced to three years in the Tora Prison, which is a notorious complex housing political prisoners and criminals. Maher is still monitored closely by the police because the government views his influence over social media as "a terroristic threat". As a result, he spends 12 out of 24 hours of each day with the police to ensure that he is not inciting any dissenting views to topple the new administration as well. 

         France has been eyeing Egypt as a strategic partner in to become a major military force in the region. I thought Egypt was already a huge military force in the region. Egypt has long been an ally of USA and receives over a billion a year in military aid from the US.  

Indeed, the US provided $6.5 billion in military assistance to Cairo between 2011 and 2015.  As a result, President Trump is expected to visit Egypt from April 1 to 4 as a follow-up of their 23 January 2017 phone conversation to discuss ways to increase bi-lateral relations. Let's hope they do not trade notes on how to crush dissent . . . .

WMB 

Huge thanks to my wonderful graduate assistant Shem Ngwira in helping me put together this piece. 

Reacting to the Swearing in of Morsy as Egypt's President

A Morsy supporter prays on Egyptian flag after presidential announcement.

 

June 24, 2012. Photo Credit Mohamed Hesham

Dear readers

Mohamed Morsy is now officially Egypt's president. He does not have very many powers, to be sure. Most of the power in the country is still in the hand's of the Supreme Council of Armed Forces, aka the military junta.

The good news is that there is a civilian president of Egyptian descent running (sort of) the country. The Revolution has indeed achieved a victory in this sense.To the extent that this development is worth celebrating the Revolution continues.

Remember, there is no parliament in Egypt right now. There is no constitution written by the people. The SCAF keeps unilaterally amending the Constitution, which is completely in violation of all constitutional and legal principles.I found Morsy's comments that he will respect the military somewhat laughable, considering that in actual fact, he serves at the will of the junta. Morsy promises to preserve military's rights.

A cynic might say that the SCAF is simply allowing Morsy's victory as a way of maintaining the veneer of progress. I really respect Abdel Rahman, and this is the line he subscribes too. Let us call it the "marriage of convenience" hypothesis. Morsy Loves You. Egypt runs on the fuel of rumors, and many say that Morsy and the SCAF struck a deal before his victory. Another concern is that a lot of Saudi and possibly Qatari money fueled the Morsy campaign. One of the more interesting rumours I heard at AUC was that Hamas was threatening to blow up key bridges and infrastructure if Morsy did not win. 

I disagree with Robert Fisk writing in the Independent (United Kingdom),Egypt Has No Constitution, Parliament or Control Egypt calmed down considerably after the election of Mohammed Morsy. The stock market rebounded, and an air of calm suffused New Cairo at least. Many were upset, but sort of adopted the stiff upper lip motto.  That being said, a pro Shafiq sit in continues in Nasr City.

In juicy gossip, apparently Shafiq went to Abu Dhabi with (allegedly) thousands of tons of luggage in tow after his defeat. If this story is true, this kind of fairly blatant corruption makes one think that perhaps it is best Shafiq lost. One of the big challenges facing Morsy is to begin prosecuting corrupt officeholders from the Mubarak government seriously. Here is the FJP platform. More analysis later. FJP political program from their very nice English language web page. The biggest issue facing Morsy is improving Egypt's ailing economy.

Here is an interesting article on the way forward for activists. Taking Stock: what comes after the election for activists?

Clashes in Abbaseya

The streets of Cairo are calmer today then they were yesterday. Clashes in Abbaseya occurred on Friday as anti-military protesters were violently dispersed from the area near the defense ministry. Troops at the Defense Ministry clashed with civilians. One soldier was killed and hundreds of people were wounded in the clashes which took place three weeks before the presidential election.

Traffic Flows Normally in Abbaseya 

Here is a really good play by play description of the event by my colleague  Mr. Hussein who writes a blog at Sibilant Egypt.

Escape from Abbaseya 

The military prosecution has detained 179 protesters for 15 days on a variety of charges after the protests in Abbaseya. The protests were against the countries military rulers, otherwise known as the SCAF. The UN Secretary general has condemned the clashes, saying citizens have a right to assemble peacefully.  At least 18 journalists have been detained after the clashes.

Mass Arrest of Protesters and Journalists reported at Defense Ministry

Journalists Syndicate Demands Release of Journalists Detained in Abbaseya

~WMB

Tahrir peaceful and protest growing

I have a friend in from town. He is going to the Egyptian Museum today. The tour guide, Waleed, went to Tahrir this morning, and says it is peaceful, and crowded. He participated in the January 25th Revolution. He said we should expect close to one million people in Tahrir by the end of the day. People are streaming in from everywhere.

Waleed and my friend were in Fayoum yesterday, and they said the people there are opposed to the military.

Word on the street

Well, regarding the Egyptian elections, gossip and innuendo is rife. Here is what I am hearing. This is TOTALLY unscientific, but very interesting, nonetheless.

My daughter's daycare teacher thinks that it is a mistake to push the military out. She says that the military is the last institution standing in Egypt, and that it is a mistake to try to get rid of them. She believes there are outside forces encouraging the youth to battle the military. Perhaps these outside forces are from Qatar or Saudi Arabia in her view.

My research assistant is very brilliant and hardworking. Her family is going to vote Muslim Brotherhood (Freedom and Justice Party) because they are organized, and they do a lot of charity.

An extremely educated and experienced political activist and journalist warned that she is very worried about the potential for violence during the election.

AUC has decided to shut down the entire university for the first round of elections on November 28th for security reasons.

~WMB

Concern and Confrontation about Constitutional Principles

Many different kinds of Egyptian political groups are worried about the so called "constitutional principles document." The document was proposed by Deputy Prime Minister Ali al-Selmy around the first of November, 2011.

The document creates a constitutional drafting committee comprised of 100 members, of whom 80 are outside Parliament, and 20 are from parties inside parliament, with a maximum of five members for each party. The SCAF, presumably, will select the 80 members outside parliament.

This document grants the SCAF the sole right to discuss the military's budget. The SCAF could also review all matters related to the military, and approve legislation related to the military. These items do not sound very democratic. A previous post discusses this. Governance, Accountability and Stakeholders The head of the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights, Hafez Abu Seada, walked out of the meeting on the document, which he says eviscerates parliament.

That being said, the document states that Egypt is a democratic civil state, that Islam is the official religion, and Sharia the source of legislation. It gives the right to non-Muslims to follow their own creeds. 

The human rights groups are not the only ones who do not like the document. The Islamists believe that it is an attempt to weaken their influence, and have called for a million-man march against the document on Friday, November 18th. The Islamists dislike the reference to Non-Muslim creeds. They say there is a US project behind the document.

Originally, secularists wanted a supra-constitutional document to ensure a secular nation, but the SCAF has cleverly subverted this ploy, turning it into a device to ensure the role of the military. Mohamed ElBaradei calls the document "distorted" and has expressed concerns regarding the power it gives the military. According to Al Masry Al Youm Mohamed Hamed, of the Free Egyptians party is more comfortable with the strong military role, than with a religious Islamist state.

The Freedom and Justice newspaper notes its strong opposition to the document. Some papers report that the Salafis and the Muslim Brotherhood are coordinating candidate nominations ahead of the parliamentary elections, however the Freedom and Justice party has denied this.

Civil society organizations have until November 19, 2011 to apply for permits to monitor the elections. The extension came from a request by the National Council for Human Rights.

Sources:
"Officials Extend Deadline for Election Monitor Applications," November 9, 2011, Al Masry Al Youm
"Nour party coordinates election strategy with Muslim Brotherhood," November 9, 2011, Al Masry Al Youm
"Campaign tensions escalate," November 10, 2011, Al Masry Al Youm 
"Islamists plan 18 November protests against super constitutional principles," November 7, 2011, Al Masry Al Youm.
Noha El-Hennawy, "Supra-constitutional debate heats up again," November 3, 2011 Al Masry Al Youm
"Constitutional principles document gives military special status," November 1, 2011, Al Masry Al Youm

The Military and Maspero

The smoky haze created by the social fire called the Maspero tragedy still blankets Egypt.

As I have reported in earlier posts, deadly clashes between the military, unarmed Coptic Christian protesters, and thugs left at least 26 dead, and more than 300 injured last week. The SCAF has promised to form a fact-finding committee. The clashes were some of the worst violence the country has seen since the January 25th Revolution. ("Egypt Army seeks probe into Cairo clashes," AlJazeera.net, October 11, 2011) 

International rights groups condemned the Maspero violence, including the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, Human Rights Watch, and the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Some have called on the US to withhold military aid to Egypt. Military aid to Egypt may be worth as much as 1.3 billion dollars. US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton spoke on the phone with Minister of Foreign Affairs Amr Mohamed to offer condolences to the victims of the Maspero violence. ("US rights groups slam Egypt's military for Maspero violence, Al Masry al Youm, October, 12, 2011)

The Egyptian military denied charges that the military used live ammunition on protesters, and also denied that army vehicles crushed demonstrators under their wheels. (Amirah Ibrahim, "We did not Kill protesters," Al Ahram Weekly, Week of October 16, 2011) Members of the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces denied at a press conference that soldiers used weapons or force during the protest. (Rana Khazbak, "Military denies use of forces, accuses protesters of armed violence in Maspero, Al Masry Al Youm, October, 12, 2011)

However, online videos, as well as credible journalists present at the scene give credence to these allegations. ("Egypt's Army Defends Actions in Protest Crackdown," Al Masry Al Youm, October 12, 2011) General Mahmoud Hegazy, a member of the SCAF asserts that the armed forces "would never and have never opened fire on the people." (Ibid) The Army pins the blame for inciting violence on foreign elements.The SCAF has released its own videos showing individuals attacking soldiers with stones and a sword. (Al Ahram)

Major General Adel Emara claims that tear gas was used for riot control. He claimed that a soldier was driving an armored vehicle to disperse the crowd, when the vehicle was set on fire. He claims the driver was badly injured. (Khazbak,"Military denies use of force") Initial hospital reports show that most victims were killed by gunfire, or by being crushed by military vehicles. Emara accused the protesters of possessing firearms and antagonizing the armed forces. (Ibid.) He showed a video of protesters setting civilian cars on fire, and claimed that the priest was inciting people to violence. He called soldiers involved in the incident "martyrs."

According to a Reuters report on October 11, 2011,  the SCAF is increasingly viewed as a new autocrat, borrowing a page from Mubarak's handbook. Christians and Muslims alike, reports reuters, say that the army's reaction during the Maspero event was as brutal as any of Mubarak's tactics. The Egyptian citizenry is increasingly impatient with Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, 75, the leader of the SCAF and a veteran of the 73 war against Israel.

Al Masry Al Youm, Egypt's most respected independent newspaper, condemned the military's actions in the Maspero tragedy. (Al Masry Editorial, "The military has gone too far, Al Masry al youm, October 11, 2011) They state a peaceful protest was met with excessive force by the military and the police. They urge that all those responsible for the violence be held accountable. The paper called for an elected government as soon as possible.

Amr Hamzawy, an activist and political force, and also a faculty member in my department at AUC, stated that " the partnership between the authorities, . . . the SCAF, the cabinet, and the citizens, is over. "("With Clashes, Egyptians Lose Trust in Military Ruler," Al Masry Al Youm, October 11, 2011) The New York Times reports that confidence in the SCAF reached a "breaking point" when the military tried to place blame for the deaths on the Coptic protesters, and denied the use of live ammunition. David Kirkpatrick, "Egypt's Military Expands Power, Raising Alarms." The New York Times, October 14, 2011)

As long as no presidential election is held, reports Reuters, executive power will remain in the hands of the military. The times quotes Maj. Gen Mahmoud Hegazy as saying the military will stay in power until Egypt has a president. Since no timetable has yet been set for presidential elections, this could mean that the SCAF stays in power well into 2013. (Ibid)

The Muslim Brotherhood blames remnants of the NDP, the party of Mubarak--now disbanded--for the violence in Maspero. MB Supreme Guide Mohamed Badie says that NDP members had threatened to set "Egypt on fire," if they were banned from political activity. He recommended an elected parliament, and an Ombudsman. (DPA, "Brotherhood supreme guide: NDP remnants behind Maspero bloodshed," Al Masry Al Youm, October 12, 2011)

The Daily News Egypt reports that Egyptians are worried, because the Army draws broadly from the national population. The idea that the military would attack civilians has thrown them into "shocked confusion."Sarah El-Deeb, "Stunned by bloodshed, Egyptians torn over army," Daily News Egypt, October 17, 2011). Sheik Osama raised an Orthodox Cross among mourners to show his support for Christian victims at a vigil Thursday. One woman, whose fiance was killed, said a military police officer kicked her fiance's corpse and hit him and called her "an infidel." (Ibid)

Governance, Accountability and Stakeholders in Egypt

This semester I am teaching a class at the American University in Cairo called "Governance, Accountability, and Stakeholder Negotiation. It is a masters level class in public policy. It is a lot of fun, and we have been doing a lot of reading on how to improve governance in the Middle East and Africa. For example, we have read the Ibrahim Index as well as the World Bank MENA governance News and Notes.

This week, we were very lucky to have a special guest. Dr. Samer Soliman came and spoke to our class. He is the author of an important book just published by Stanford University Press. The book is titled The Autumn of Dictatorship: Fiscal Crisis and Political Change Under Mubarak.  In this book, Dr. Soliman evaluates the Egyptian budget to get lessons about allocation patterns, and the character of the authoritarian Egyptian state.

Here are some of his comments (paraphrased) on governance and accountability.

Accountability

The main issue of the Army is the budget. The second issue is that the Army has an economic empire. The military empire is off budget. If you examine the details of the Egyptian budget, you will not see it, but the evidence is all around us. One concern for the transition is that the Egyptian military is trying to prevent the new president from having power over the budget. 

It will likely take a while to move the military to its proper place in society. In Spain, the transition to democracy took 15 years. Currently in Egypt, we are operating under an interim constitution. At the moment, there is no article in the constitution that has a popular monitoring of the budget.  

We need an army, and we need a state. There has actually been a long term weakening of the Army since Sadat. The Nasser regime was really a military regime. This is less true today. In Iraq under Saddam, there was no distance at all between the regime and the state. This is also true of Syria today. In Egypt, there is some distance. The military is not divided along sectarian lines, like the Syrian military. It is important to get the military budget into the state budget. Right now, there is a lack of civilian control of the budget. 

Taxation plays an important role in accountability. Taxation in Egypt is currently corrupt and inefficient. Democracy facilitates the task of taxation because it enhances popular legitimacy. We also need progressive taxation. 


Stakeholders


With regard to stakeholders under the Mubarak Regime, there were no real political parties. There were just pressure groups. The opposition parties had no chance to rule. New political parties are emerging. In the future, we will have real political parties in Egypt. Syndicates will be much more important. There was no real syndicate life under the old regime. The syndicates can play an important role as an instrument of bargaining and problem solving. Many social groups in Egypt do not have real power. The Egyptian diaspora is important. Civil society will be more important in the new period. The SCAF is pushing the diaspora aside because they are dangerous. They are a huge asset in terms of their money, their knowledge, and their connections. 


Elections

It is not correct that the SCAF will be appointing all 100 members of the task force to write the constitution. Rather, they will set the criteria of how people for the task force are selected. The parliamentary elections will be in November. Then, there will hopefully be presidential elections, although it is vague. The constitution should be drafted within 6 months after the presidential elections. There is no guarantee that the constitutional drafting will be finished in the transition period. 


Egyptian Social Democratic Party

The party I belong to is the SDP. It is objectively, the best party in Egypt, and you should join it. {laughter}. We respect the market economy, but we also believe in a welfare state, and we support social justice. Our party is based on the assumption that economic development needs to create opportunities for the poor, but still be based on the market. We want to give people the instruments and means to defend their rights. It is creative conciliation between the market, and social democracy. 

Happy Anniversary Tahrir!

Well, the protest in Tahrir has been going strong for a week now. And furthermore, the Revolution has been going on for nearly six months. In fact, I arrived in Egypt on January 25th, and my birthday is on July 25th, and we are still revolutionizing.

Here are some links to read as we reflect on this momentous occasion. 

Egypt: Revolution in progress 
http://english.aljazeera.net/programmes/empire/2011/07/20117146399103458.html

Egyptians voice frustrations in Tahrir Square 
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/07/20117159536363741.html
 
Egypt's military representative visits Tahrir, amidst protesters' fury
http://www.almasryalyoum.com/en/node/477842

Why the success of the 25 January revolution resonates beyond Egypt
http://www.almasryalyoum.com/en/node/476190

Police cleansing no substitute for reform, activists say
http://www.almasryalyoum.com/en/node/477081

Political parties support postponing parliamentary elections
http://www.almasryalyoum.com/node/477135

Egypt's military announces committee on constitutional principles to little fanfare http://www.almasryalyoum.com/en/node/476779

Violence in Tahrir Square in late June

Photo Credits, Al Masry Al Youm Newspaper, English Edition, June 29, 2011

Dear readers

I have been very busy with work. I just finished teaching an accelerated class on leadership. However, I got some worrisome emails from the office of the Vice President for Planning at AUC yesterday.

Dear AUC Community,


Please note that because of recent security environment changes in Down Town, all bus pick-ups will start from Al Zahraa bus station instead of Mohamed Mahmoud stop.

Thank you.


Well, that was a bit worrisome, but I just went about my routine. Then yesterday, I got an even scarier message.


Due to the continuing violence on the streets surrounding the Tahrir Campus (including Falaki Building); students, faculty and staff are not to come to the Tahrir Campus until further advised.

We are monitoring the situation on an ongoing basis and will update the AUC community as new information becomes available.

Thank you.

At this point, I decided that it might be advisable to get my head out of my guzitza and to actually read the newspaper.

Al Masry Al Youm reports that protesters threw rocks and molotov cocktails, and that the CSF fired multiple rounds of tear gas. The causes of the clash were unclear.

From speaking to colleagues and staff at the university yesterday, people told me that the clashes began because some families had raised money for the martyrs of the revolution. When the families went to collect the money, other families showed up, and also demanded money. By the way, the money was not being given out by the government. The money had been raised by well-meaning citizens. So, the legitimate families were standing in line, waiting to collect their money, and other families, who were allegedly not legitimate, started a fight. There was some sense that the "other families" were thugs.

Okay, back to the news reports.

Fifteen people were arrested as the relatives protested at the Balloon Theater in the Agouza district, after which the group decided to march on the Interior Ministry, close to Tahrir Square, where a further 20 were arrested.

Again, based on conversations, there was a sense that the group were actually thugs. People who I spoke to said that of 50 people treated for wounds, only one was a civilian. The others were all police.

According to Abdel Rahman Hussein, writing in Al Masry, (June 29, 2011)

As these later arrests were made, protesters clashed with security forces, and the confrontation spread to Qasr al-Aini Street, a main Cairo thoroughfare, and Mohamed Mahmoud Street, which borders the American University in Cairo’s downtown campus.


At least 25 civilians have been injured in the clashes so far.


Some protesters said they feared this was a continuation of the fallen regime's tactics. "It's the same thing happening again, nothing has changed," said Mohamed Abdel Raouf, a protester. Central Security Forces used tear gas extensively, as well as beatings and water cannons, during the early days of the 25 January revolution.

At least 44 people have been arrested in conjunction with the violence. Dalia Othman writes, that the cases have been referred to the military prosecutor. By the end of the day, writes Heba Hasham on the 29th, at least 655 people had been treated for injuries.

The impact on the economy has been negative. According to the AP wire

The Egyptian stock exchange's benchmark index has tumbled over two percent amid fresh clashes between security forces and protesters in central Cairo.


The benchmark EGX30 index closed at 5,283 points, shedding 2.03 percent from its previous day's settlement, as overnight fighting between security forces and hundreds of protesters in the capital's iconic Tahrir Square stretched into Wednesday.


The protesters were demanding the acceleration of the prosecution of police officers accused of brutality in during the uprising in five months earlier that ended with former President Hosni Mubarak's ouster.

The violence underscored the continued tension in the country as it struggles to rebuild its economy and push forward on democratic reforms.


As usual in Cairo, it is very difficult to figure out what is going on. As of this morning, reports are that 1036 persons have been injured.  My colleague in the law department tells me that the Egyptian people are becoming very disenchanted with the military. They are wondering if it is not time to have a revolution against the military.

Amr Al Shalakany's Series of Unfortunate Events: An Essay on Military Detentions in Egypt

 Military observe and control a protest in Tahrir Square, Cairo.
Photo Credit, the author.

  
I have spent quite a bit of time writing about the detention of American University in Cairo Law Professor Amr El Shalakany. (Please See post post 1, and post 2, and finally post 3) Dr. Shalakany was arrested and detained at a police station near Sharm El Sheikh. He was charged with being drunk in public, and slandering a police officer. He was later charged with inciting a riot, damaging public property, and attempting to escape. He was handed over to a military prosecutor's office. Shalakany was released after paying a bail of 100 pounds, and a case of slandering a police officer is still pending against him.

One reason I have paid attention to the matter is that I know Shalakany a little bit. He works on my floor, in my building.  There, but for the grace of God go I, and all of that. Another reason I have been following his case is that he found himself in a situation that many everyday Egyptians have found themselves in. Namely, he had a run in with the military, and it ended badly.

Luckily for Shalakany, he is a prominent lawyer, from a family of prominent lawyers, who teaches at a prominent university, and has prominent friends. Al Jazeera states that Shalakany was released because of an "honest military prosecutor." However, a more cynical analyst (i.e. me), might suggest that he was released because holding him was a lot more trouble to the SCAF than he was actually worth. Regardless of why he was released, we are very happy for him. I suggest we celebrate his release by reflecting upon how the series of unfortunate events he just experienced gives us an insight into military detentions in Egypt.

Let us begin our discussion with reference to one of my favorite documents, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This crucial document was passed by the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 10, 1948. Since Egypt is in the middle of a "Revolution," the country has a chance to reconsider its laws and government, and really rearrange and rebuild its institutions and organizations. Accordingly,  reference to core documents such as the Declaration is important during this period.

A few different articles of the UDHR are relevant to this discussion. Article 5 states that "No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment." Article 9 states that "No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile." Article 10 states that "Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him." A strong argument can be made that the Egyptian military has routinely violated all three of these provisions since January 25th, 2011.


First of all, the military and the "government," have passed a law declaring that "calling for or participating in protests that disrupt business or involve violence while the emergency law is in effect," is a crime punishable by up to a year in jail, and a fine of LE 500,000.  (Al Masry Al Youm, "Demonstrators Denounce Protest Ban, Call for More Reforms," March 28, 2011) This law is carte blanche for illegal detentions in my view, in addition to being an unnecessary constraint on the freedom of the people to peaceably assemble (another right protected by the UDHR). The Emergency Law remains in effect in Egypt. This law has been in force for the past 30 years, and according to Jano Charbel, is to remain in effect until parliamentary elections are held. (Al Masry Al Youm, Jano Charbel. "Activists Denounce New Law Criminalizing Protests," March 24, 2011) As Karam Saber of the Land Center for Human Rights has noted, it is not clear how to determine whether strikes and protests disrupt the economy. In addition, it is unknown if protesters will be subject to military tribunals, and it is unknown if their sentences can be appealed.

According to Ahmed Maher, a co-founder of the April 6 Youth Movement, the SCAF has become increasingly "opaque and unaccountable." (AlJazeera.net, Evan Hill, "Egypt's Youth Leaders Vow Continued Protests," April 7, 2011).  Evan Hill reports that Egyptian military police have been accused of baseless arrests, abuse and torture, summary trials, and illegal detentions. (Ibid at 2). A recent report by Hill notes that the Egyptian army has subjected thousands of ordinary Egyptians "to incommunicado detentions, trials and sentencings in front of military courts that provide little or no due process. Soldiers have . . . beaten activists with metal bars, ropes and electrified batons." (AlJazeera.net, Evan Hill, "Egypt's Crackdown now Wears Camouflage," May 20, 2011)

The Egyptian Army may be holding as many as 10,000 people (Ibid, Hill 2). After a church attack in early May, the army detained more than 190 people, and said they will face military trials as a deterrent against further violence.("Egypt Christians Protest in Cairo after Church Attack," BBC News, May 9, 2011)   On its Facebook Page, the Egyptian Army announced that the SCAF will send all 190 persons arrested to the Supreme Military Court. Although the violence against Christians must be strongly and unequivocally condemned, we must also condemn summary justice and sham trials.

Human Rights Watch has asked that the Egyptian military immediately end trials of civilians before military courts and release all those arbitrarily detained or convicted after unfair proceedings. (Human Rights Watch, "Egypt: Military Trials Usurp Justice System," April 29, 2011.) Human Rights Watch points out that the SCAF has tried more than 5000 civilians before military tribunals since February, including many arrested following peaceful protests in Tahrir and elsewhere. The trials are taking place under the Code of Military Justice   Ironically, at the same time that protesters are being charged in military courts, senior officials of Mubarak's governments facing corruption allegations are being tried in civilian courts. (Ibid, HRW). Over the past several months, civilians have been sentenced to prison terms ranging from six months to seven years, with some receiving sentences ranging from 25 years to life imprisonment. These military trials of civilians "constitute wholesale violations of basic fair trial rights," according to HRW.

Writing in April, Mohamed Elmeshad noted that "activists and analysts are questioning the ruling military council's decision-making process and challenging the military on frequent allegations of human rights abuses." (Al Masry Al Youm, Mohamed Elmeshad, "Military's Performance raises questions on the way forward"). Elmeshad quotes a prisoner, Hany Adel, who claims to have beaten for seven hours straight. Further, women prisoners have allegedly been subjected to "virginity tests," a form of torture. (Amnesty International, Egyptian Women Protesters Forced to Take "Virginity Tests") Further, blogger Michael Nabil has been imprisoned for criticizing the SCAF, a fairly obvious violation of free speech, among other things.( Pen International, Blogger Michael Nabil Sentenced to three years in prison)  )

There is mounting evidence that illegal detentions and unfair trials are occurring in Egypt, in violation of international human rights guidelines. Let us all-- as scholars, activists, journalists and citizens-- deplore the series of unfortunate events which Dr. Shalakany was subjected to. Let us take his case as a call to oppose illegal detentions, and summary military trials in Egypt. WMB


I would like to thank my colleague Joe Hill,, who has done a good job of keeping me up to date on the topic of military detentions.  

Postscript May 25, 2011. 


According to my Kenyan attorney friend Samuel Ochieng Ollunga, who is himself a Harvard Law graduate like Shalakany,  civilians' right to a fair trial is also buttressed by the following statutes:  the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (Article 14 and 16), the Convention Against Torture to which Egypt is a signatory circa 1986, and the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights (Article 7 and 25). The ACHPR's protocol also establishes the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights.

Wusool Mahtar (Airport Arrivals)

Article first published as "Travel Tension under Military Rule in Egypt" on Blogcritics.

Photo by author of Egyptian Army Soldier at Tahrir square

My husband arrived last week. Everyone in the house is much happier. The kids sleep through the night. The baby does not need three bottles. The house is lively, full of activity, full of fun.

Getting him here was a bit of a production. He is Kenyan, with a green card. Accordingly, he needs a visa before he enters Egypt, whereas Americans can simply buy their visa at the airport for $15. My husband decided on the spur of the moment to come do some business in Ethiopia, and then to come to Egypt. We only had a few days to apply for his visa. Needless to say, it was not ready by the time he arrived.

This resulted in a nervewracking situation for me,  the wife (zogah). I asked my university to apply for the visa. They applied, but he only told us on a Friday, which is the equivalent of the western Sunday, i.e. Nobody works because it is the Lord's Day. As a result, the time to apply for the visa was shortened even more. So, here it was, Wednesday, and Hamadi did not have a visa yet. In addition, he was travelling, so it was hard to communicate with him.

Let's just say that I went on an "all systems alert." I am a worry wort and anxious by nature. But now I was facing the prospect of two outcomes: good case scenario my husband is detained at the airport, and bad case scenario, my husband is deported from Egypt. Not a fun scene.

So, going through my obsessive compulsive checklist I liased with the travel office, the business services office, the center for migration and refugees, a friend who is a travel agent, and my boss. The business service office was working on speeding up the visa. The travel office provided me (at a reasonable fee) with an official driver and an "expeditor." I brought my passport and my AUC badge just in case the distraught wife thing might work.

Needless to say, I was a nervous wreck. The current "government" of Egypt is nothing more or less than the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces. They are very strict, and they are not known for their easygoing flexibility. I had basically steeled myself for Hamadi being locked in some small room at the airport for an unknown number of days. The business service office strongly recommended that he not travel and stay wherever he was till the visa cleared. However, since I had no way to get in touch with him, I had to just steel myself for the inevitable.

We arrived at the airport and met the "expeditor." I handed him my passport and my AUC badge. I informed him that Hamadi had received a visa and entered the country and left the country before the Revolution. The expeditor was a jolly man named Mark, and he remained pleasant yet impassive as I told him these details. All of us were in the dark. No one new what the reaction would be to this bureacratic error in a time of military rule.

The driver and I stood anxiously at the gate.  Women passed by, some in black Nekab with feet covered and gloves on their hands, only their heavily kohled eyes showing. Young women stood with their boyfriends in tight jeans and high heels. Taxi drivers came up to me repeatedly asking if I needed assistance in Arabic. I anxiously checked the board, flights from Tripoli, cancelled. Flights from Benghazi, cancelled. Flights from Aden, on point. Where was the flight from Dubai?

As we waited, the driver worked on my Arabic with me. His wife is from Morocco, where they speak Arabic and French.  I learned to speak my first Arabic sentence waiting for goozy (my husband). It surely sounds like nonsense to you, but for me it was a significant moment to go from single, isolated words to an entire sentence. "Ana saafa dunia bil nahaar." I see the world in the daytime. I picked this sentence, because this was my first time coming to Cairo airport in the day. Suddenly, I could see where it was going in the bright Egyptian sunshine. As I mused on my accomplishment, my husband appeared at the gate, safari jacket pockets full. The expeditor had expedited. Goozy fi el beit.

update on Amr El Shalakany via twitter

May 2, 2011

10:54 a.m.

Tweets say Amr has been released. In my office at AUC. No law faculty around. I asked the staff secretary and she says she knows Amr has been released. She does not know whether charges are pending or not. I will keep you posted.

nlanc Nell Lancaster

RT @KHawkins5: Amr el-Shalakany has been released.#egyarmy #Egypt ||Yay! Thanks.Hadn't checked my Egypt list yet, distracted by other nooz.

 00.48 a.m.

no new tweets of substance

22.19 p.m. April 30th.

nalytweets naly 

Amr Shalakany transferred from military to ordinary prosecution in El Tur. #shalakany #amrshalakany

daliabayoumi dalia bayoumi 

Amr El Shalakany Prof.Law Cairo Uni & AUC arrested in Sharm 3 days ago. in Suez @ Military Prosecution 4 trial Lawyers & activists on way

henrystreetedit allison brown 

RT @anjucomet: Egyptian Military arrested AUC law professor AmrShalakani in Sinai resort Sharm el Shaikh. Now with military prosecutor.

DailyNewsEgypt The Daily News Egypt 

AUC law professor to be tried before a military court http://tinyurl.com/6562gqd #fb

moftasa Mostafa Hussein 

Why is Amr El-Shalakany, a law professor in AUC, facing a military trial? WTF?