589 Defections
A few quick items from the press:
- One hundred and eight more members of Egypt’s ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) have resigned ahead of the local council elections.
- Members of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood are splitting off from their organization to form a splinter group, Al-Masry al-Youm reports. The group, led by Ali Abd al-Hafiz and comprised mostly of university professors, will be called Tayar Badil, or the “alternative trend.” Abd al-Hafiz wrote a book by the same name criticizing the Brotherhood’s internal administration.
- The government has released 500 detainees accused of belonging to Islamist groups. Perhaps they are making room for the 800+ Brotherhood detainees.
- Mustafa al-Fiqi, head of Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, affirms that he’s loyal to President Mubarak and his family after he was banned from writing in the state’s flagship daily, Al-Ahram. Al-Masry al-Youm reports that Fiqi has recently accused Israel of harboring ambitions to take back Sinai, and has criticized the U.S. government for “talking about Ayman Nur like he’s [Nelson] Mandela instead of a signature-forger.” More colorful pronouncements from the prominent parliamentarian here.
- A Cairo court today acquitted Ibrahim Eissa, editor of the feisty opposition daily Al-Dustur, of charges publishing rumors about Mubarak’s health, days after he was sentenced to six months in prison on separate charges of spurring a capital flight from Egypt by reporting rumors that President Mubarak’s health was ailing last August. The charges dismissed today were brought by NDP-affiliated lawyer Hatem Mohammed. The charges that led to Eissa’s conviction a few days ago were initially brought by State Security.
Eissa is due back in court on Saturday, April 5, when he and three other editors, Abd al-Halim Qandil (Al-Karama), Adil Hammuda (Al-Fagr), and Wahel al-Ibrashi (Sawt al-Umma), will appeal a one-year prison sentence on charges of “publishing false news likely to disturb public order.”
Lastly, your affirmation for the day comes from Farid al-Din Attar’s Tadhkiratu al-Awliya (Memorial of the Saints): “Glory be to that God who slays our children, and takes away our wealth, and whom withal we love.”
[tags]Egypt, NDP, Muslim Brotherhood, Ibrahim Eissa, Islam[/tags]
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