The weekly newsletter from 18 th to 25th march 2021

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Egypt

In the women’s month, the Executive and Legislative Authority is flirting with the international community, and the Judiciary is wasting the right of Passant:

This is what Bassant Mahmoud has written in her tweet after the acquittal ruling obtained by 7 persons who were photographed during the incident of Mass harassment after the seventh circuit of the Mansoura Criminal Court, headed by counselor Magdy Qasem and the membership of the counselors Wael Qandil and Mohey Al Din Mohamed Al Kilany, has ruled the acquittal of 7 accused persons in the incident of mass harassment against the girl of Mit Ghamr.

During his pleadings, Hany Ebada, lawyer of the accused persons, argued that the crime of indecent assault with its material and moral pillars was absent, and the invalidity of the record of collecting evidence, the investigation record, and the statements of the victim as her accounts varied which contradicted the videos that were broken up by the Public Prosecution of the location of the incident. It was proven that none of the defendants touched them, either physically or verbally. In addition, he argued that the incident and the confirmation of its occurrence are unreasonable, in addition to the invalidity of the attribution of the Public Prosecution. It is noteworthy that the accused persons obtained their acquittal last week in the other Misdemeanor charges that were previously compiled against them and which are related to the incident.

The incident dates back to December 10, when Dakahlia security received a notification communiqué to the officer of the Mit Ghamr Police Department from “Yasmine M.” She is famous with the name Passant, she has 23 years and she is a student at the Faculty of Agriculture in Ain Shams, confirming that she was assaulted by collective harassment by a large group of young men while she was walking on Port Said Street in the city of Mit Ghamr. A group of human rights organizations have issued a statement, calling on the Public Prosecution to appeal on the rulling which was issued yesterday of the acquittal of the accused persons from the crime of collective sexual assault .

In addition, the Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives, headed by Counselor Ibrahim Al Heneidi, approved a bill to amend the Penal Code regarding harsher penalties for female circumcision. Article 242 bis (a) of the Penal Code has witnessed widespread controversy about the difficulty of proving permanent disability in this crime as the article stipulates imprisonment for a period of no less than five years for those who performed female circumcision by removing any part of her external genital organs whether in part or in whole, or by inflicting any injuries to these organs. The sentence reaches extreme confinement if a permanent disability happened.

As agreed by the committee, Article (242) bis stipulates that anyone who performs female circumcision, partially or completely removes part of her external genitalia, or inflicts injuries to those organs, shall be punished with imprisonment for a period of no less than five years. The punishment shall be rigorous imprisonment for a period of no less than seven years, but if the act leads to death, the penalty shall be extreme confinement for a period of no less than ten years. She added, “The punishment is rigorous imprisonment for a period of no less than 5 years, if the person who performed the circumcision which is referred to in the previous paragraph, is a doctor or practicing the profession of nursing, and if his crime resulted in a permanent disability, the penalty shall be rigorous imprisonment for a period of no less than 10 years. If the act has led to death, the punishment shall be rigorous imprisonment for a period not less than fifteen years and not exceeding twenty years. In addition to the explained penalties , the court shall order the closure of the private facility in which the circumcision takes place, and if it is licensed, the period of closure is 5 years, with the removal of its plates and banners, whether it is owned by the doctor who committed the crime, or its actual managers are aware of its commission, without prejudice to the rights of others. The intention, and the publication of the judgment in two widely circulated daily newspapers and on the websites designated by the judgment at the expense of the convicted person..

President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi directed the House of Representatives to quickly take the necessary measures to issue a law preventing child marriage "early marriage", stressing that the lawmust be independent and explicitly stipulating the legal age for marriage. President Sisi's mandate to the House of Representatives came in his speech during an honoring ceremony to the Egyptian Woman and the Ideal Mother of 2021, currently located at the Manara Convention Center..
The economic court ruled to fine Al-Nahar channel one million pounds in favor of model Mirhan Hisham, in compensation for the material and moral damages caused to her as a result of posting an insulting video against her on its youtube channel

It is noteworthy that the Appellant Misdemeanor Court in Nasr City has ruled that the lawsuit filed by Mirhan Hisham against Tamer Amin, the interviewer of Al-Nahar TV, has ended by reconciliation between the two parts on charges of insulting and defaming. Investigations in Case No. 47954 of 2019, submitted by Counselor Haitham Abbas, revealed that the journalist Tamer Amin discussed the relationship of his client, Mirhan Hisham, with the national team player Amr Warda, and directed a speech to her that he considered insulting and slandering her, and by announcing this matter, she was subjected to a wave of verbal harassment on the social media means.

The truce with Turkey is the slogan of the Ministry of Information after the Turkish response to the requests of the Egyptian regime:

The Minister of Information, Osama Heikal said that he hopes that Egyptian Media will be abided by the truce with Turkey in order to provide an appropriate climate for negotiations between the two countries in case of the existence of negotiation at any level.

That is in his comment on the decision of the Turkish authorities to oblige the TV channels opposing the Egyptian Regime in “Ankara” by stopping criticism against president Abdel Fattah Al Sisi and the Egyptian government, and to abide by the Media Honor Code. Heikal’s statements come as the first response from the Egyptian government with the Turkish courtship, after Sameh Shoukri, Minister of Foreign Affairs has made a condition last week that in order to restore normal relations with Turkey, it has to make a real change in its policies towards Egypt, confirming that “words are not enough and they must be accompanied by actions”. The Turkish actions were represented by its order on last Thursday to the heads of the satellite channels which oppose the Egyptian regime and which broadcast from its territories “the channels of Watan, El Sharq and Mekamleen” to stop their political programs and criticism against Egypt and its president, threatening them with punishments that would reach the closure of these channels and deporting TV presenters who don’t respond to these new roles of work. That was followed by not broadcasting the political programs of the three channels and Al-Sharq TV’s apology for presenting a number of its political programs without explanation.

The decision coincided with the publication of local Turkish mass media, other decisions imposing house arrest on Brotherhood leaders and media professionals who work in these channels. In addition, the Turkish authorities’ demand for 30 leaders to remain silent and not make political statements, indicating that the coming days may witness auditing the accounts of some leaders and media professionals in banks and the deportation of some of them. In addition to handing over numbers of wanted persons by the Egyptian authorities for being convicted of crimes in Egypt. However, the advisor to the head of the ruling Justice and Development Party, Yassin Aktay, denied those decisions, stressing that his country did not ask the Egyptian political opponents except to “reconsider Media discourse directed at Egypt and controlling speeches, under the pain of recognized laws in the media, ”which is the same as what the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Al Sharq Channel, Ayman Nour, confirmed in statements to the BBC, stressing that he had received an official invitation from the Turkish authorities for dialogue about the performance of channels of opposition in Istanbul. .

Police is for the service of people:

This comes after the spread of some posts on social media, indicating the killing of a young man, Muhammad Yusuf, 34, at the hands of an officer and two police officers, while he was in his workplace (a supermarket), and the incident prompted the people of the village to gather in front of the shop of the incident, accused The officers and police secretaries killed Yusef, and demanded their arrest, which required the intervention of parliamentarians from the region and the Interior Ministry leaders to calm the families, according to some relatives of the victim, confirming that Yusef’s family had submitted a report to the prosecution, which is currently conducting its investigation with the witnesses..

According to what some witnesses told the relatives of the dead man, the officer and the police secretary stormed the grocery store of the deceased, who had a chronic heart disease, to ask him about the whereabouts of another person. The family went with the body to the Central Shibin Al Qanater to prove that he had been beaten, which was proven by the forensic report, which indicated that there were bruises to the head and chest as a result of beating with a sharp object, according to the relative of the victim, while a security source in the Qalyubia Security Directorate reported that Yousuf died of a heart attack. .

Later, the police department denied knowing the whereabouts of five of them. Last Friday, the police arrested five residents while they were participating in a protest in front of their homes against the decision to expropriate the property, and they were transferred to the Talbiya Police Station in which officers reassured for the families of them that they were arrested and that they didn’t file a report against them. Later, on the next day on Saturday, the security personnel of the police department denied the presence of the five residents, saying that they “moved”, without specifying the destination of their transfer, according to Imam quoted from the families of the arrested. Hours after the arrest of the participants in the protest, on Saturday at dawn, the security forces arrested the admin of the page “a distress call to President Sisi from those affected by the expropriation of the property in the Tersa buildings” from his home.

On February 4, the Prime Minister issued a decision to expropriate 38 properties on Tersa Street, as part of the works of expanding and developing the street, constructing bridges and opening traffic axes in it, and considering them as a “public benefit”, in continuation to three previous decisions to expropriate property on the street Same, for the same reasons, in June 2019, August 2020, and then last January.

The people of Tersa see that the street’s expansion is unnecessary and a “waste of public money”, as it is currently 35 meters wide, and the government wants to expand it to 40 meters.The main Al-Haram Street itself, which Tersa will be a replacement for it, is 33 meters wide. In addition, according to the previous decisions, a number of properties were demolished in “Tersa”, and the street was developed, and the governorate and the neighborhood informed them at the time that the remaining properties had no problem, before they came back and informed them, after the issuance of the last decision, that these properties violated the planning line..

Detainees and the never-ending series of pretrial detention, the revolving doors and ill-treatment:

The researcher “Ahmed Samir” was taken into custody in the Fifth Settlement Police Department on February 1, after he was summoned by the National Security, and he remained detained by the National Security with a permission issued by the Supreme State Security Prosecution. Ahmed Samir Sintawi faces charges: Joining a terrorist group while knowing its objectives, spreading false news and statements that harm security and public order, and using an account on social networks for the purpose of spreading false news.

It is noteworthy that Sintawi complained that he was placed in solitary confinement in “Erad” – a cell that receives new prisoners- since his entry into Tora Liman Prison, and that no equipment was entered for him, or that he was allowed to buy from the prison canteen, despite his family depositing money in the prison’s canteen.

The great journalist Magdy Hussein, editor-in-chief of Al Shaab newspaper, began a hunger strike, on Friday, to protest the refusal of the Penitentiary Administration authorities, after the end of his prison term, which was scheduled for yesterday, after completing his seventh year in prison. Hussein suffers from a deterioration in his health, as he has a heart illness and underwent a heart stent surgery, in addition to his sickness with renal calculi and a number of aging diseases such as pressure. In addition, he needs a surgery as a result of his chronic herniated disc injury due to poor detention conditions..
The Supreme State Security Prosecution has released 19 accused persons in Case No. 880 of 2020 by the counting of Supreme State Security, which is known in the media as the “ incidents of the Second September 20”. The accused persons in the case face charges with spreading and publishing false news and statements, joining a terrorist group while knowing and promoting its goals and misusing “Facebook” as a means of social media. Security forces have arrested hundreds in several governorates during protests on the last September 20, the one-year anniversary of similar protests that erupted on September 20, 2019. .

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In the last counting for the number of the arrested persons in the incidents of September 20, the Democratic Transition and Human Rights Support Center DAAM has said that it has monitored 2156 persons who were arrested in 21 governorates.

The General North Mansoura Prosecution has renewed the imprisonment of Mohamed Adem for 15 days pending case no.4118 of 2018 Sherbin administration.
The Third Terrorist Circuit of Cairo Criminal Court, renewed imprisonment of blogger Mohamed Oxygen, activist Sameh Saudi and lawyer Ekrami Mohamedd for 45 days pending case 855 of 2020 the counting of state security. In addition, it renewed the imprisonment of activist Ayman Mohamed Ebaid for 45 days pending case no.1017 of 2020, the counting of the state security. Moreover,in the evening, it renewed the imprisonment for journalists Mustafa Al Asar and Moataz Wadnan for 45 days pending case No. 1898 of 2019, the counting of the State Security. In addition, it renewed the imprisonment of dozens of arrested persons for 45 days in Case No. 1530 of the 2019, the counting of the state security.
The Military Criminal Court has decided to sentence 67 accused persons to life imprisonment, imprison 92 accused persons for 15 days, 29 accused persons for the strict imprisonment for 10 years, 6 accused persons for the strict imprisonment for 7 years, 10 accused persons for the strict imprisonment for 5 years, one accused person for 15 years, another one for 10 years, 4 accused persons for 7 years, 26 accused persons for 5 years and 36 accused persons for 3 years, in addition to the acquittal of other 5 accused persons in the case known as “the second Hasm Movement” .

Coronavirus postpones the elections of the Press Syndicate and the Executive Authority finally responds to doctors:

The Council of the Journalists Syndicate issued a statement in which it decided with majority to postpone the general assembly scheduled for March 19, 2021, and to convene it on Friday April 2, 2021, provided that it convenes at an open headquarters in Cairo, which will be announced within days, in order to achieve the necessary conditions to maintain Health and safety of journalists, "since the holding of the General Assembly and the holding of elections inside the Syndicate headquarters represented a serious threat to the health and safety of journalists .
The Minister of Health said that President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi has ordered her to count the names of martyrs of the Medical staff in order to launch their names at squares and streets of the New Administrative Capital, in addition to the representation of two of the injured and the families of martyrs of doctors caused by Coronavirus within the formation of the Board of Directors of the Fund for Combating Medical Emergencies. She stressed that the political leadership appreciates the bravery and sacrifices of doctors in combating Coronavirus that exceed what was happened in the 1973 war, according to Zayed. However, at the same time, it can’t include the injured and the families of martyrs due to Coronavirus from the Medical teams to the Fund of Army and Police Fund as they have a special fund for them. According to the Egyptian Medical Syndicate page, the number of victims of doctors in combating Coronavirus has reached 408 martyrs..
In addition, Dr. Alaa Eid, head of the preventive medicine sector at the Ministry of Health, confirmed that 488,000 citizens of the groups eligible for vaccination have been registered through the website to register and book the Corona vaccine since its start until now. Dr. Alaa Eid, head of the preventive medicine sector at the Ministry of Health, added, in a press statement today, that the number of citizens who have been vaccinated so far has reached 30 thousand citizens.

Dr. Hala Zayed, Minister of Health and Population has said that the vaccine shipment, that was received by Egypt from China two weeks ago, had left the laboratories from two days and the Ministry of Health will start the vaccination within days in order to intensify the vaccination of citizens with the vaccine

Tunisia

Kais Saeied’s visit to Libya produces economic and political outcomes.

The most important characteristic of the political scene during this week is the visit of President Kais Saeied to Libya after granting confidence to the National Government in an attempt from him to strengthen the Libyan-Tunisian relation. Indeed, this meeting resulted in several important outcomes on the social, economic and political level, including the work to revive Arab Maghreb Union at the level of prime ministers’ meeting and at the summit level. At the financial level, it was agreed to facilitate procedures between the Central Bank and the Bank of Libya. At the Humane level, President Kais Saeied presented a request to the Libyan government to intensify its efforts in order to reveal the truth in the absence of journalists, Sofiane Chawarbi and Nazir Qattari in Libya. In addition

Absence or absence of Independence Day celebrations:

At the national level, President of the Republic Kais Saeied decided to pardon for 1521 prisoners on the 65th anniversary of the independence day. However it is striking that there no celebrations for Independence Day on March 20, 2021, while other presidencies i.e. the presidency of the Government and Parliament made symbolic celebrations that were limited to publishing a statement and visiting the mausoleum of the late leader “Habib Bourguiba” Perhaps this is a sign of estrangement among presidencies and their failure to gather even in official occasions, in addition to scoring points over each other. Several politicians and critics have considered the President’s speech and his presentation of the issue of the Independence Day celebrations during the activities of the satellite launching, a speech involving the lack of patriotism and recognition of the country’s independence. That is especially because of saying these sentences: “The real independence is to have power, treating others on the basis of respect and equality”

The continuing of chaos in Assembly and impunity fails to protect some representatives:

Regarding the parliamentary work, the Assembly is still witnessing a state of tension and chaos which is a scene that has become a routine and its incidents are expected by citizens. Following the shouting and confusion of representative, Abeer Mousa in the Assembly after the dispersal of her sit-in in front of the Muslim Scholars Union and even her insult against some workers and administrative employees in the Assembly, the Ennahda bloc authorized the intervention of the Public Prosecution due to the disruption happened by MPs to the session of the Rights, Freedoms and Foreign Relations Committee, and as a result they had to end the session. The state of hysteria caused by MPs Abeer Mousa has continued in a continuing and weekly manner as she tried to enter loudspeakers in order to use it during the Plenary Session on Tuesday, March 23, 2021. This act has led to prevent her from attending three consecutive sessions by the presidency of the Assembly and the matter reached the point of calling Public Prosecution to intervene and seeking the assistance from an investigative prosecutor in order to inspect and file what happened in a report. This has resulted in verbal clashes among Abeer Mousa and Administratives who prevent her from entering the session’s hall. In addition, she accused them of hitting and harassing her. Moussa’s accusations reached even those who employ parliamentary assistants from among the graduate students, as she accused them of foreign funding from the US. Moreover, Mousa has attacked some journalists who attended the Assembly, including Sarhan Chekhawi, which angered journalists and made them protest and even boycott Abeer Mousa. This prompted the Ennahda office to issue a statement condemning the actions of what it considered the “fascist bloc.” In addition, the general secretary of the Employees Syndicate “Ahmed Al Masoudi” stormed the plenary session on Tuesday, March 23, which led to verbal clashes between him and one of the MP, and thus he was expelled from the Assembly and his membership in the union was suspended.

The square of violence inside the parliament this week is completed by the attack by a member of the Ennahda movement on one of the female members of the Free Constitutional Party and smashing her phone in light of things completely out of control.

The matter is not limited to Abeer Moussa, as suspicions and accusations affected a large number of MPs this week, among them MP Saeed Al Jaziri, who on Wednesday March 17, 2021 was subjected to seizing the necessary equipment to broadcast his radio channel, “The Holy Quran”, for practicing unauthorized broadcasting activities.

In addition, MP Rached Al Khaiari was brought before the Court of First Instance on March 22 in order to hear his affidavit regarding the leakages related to MP Mohamed Ammar. In the same framework, Public Prosecution ordered summoning four MPs from the Dignity Bloc, including the head of the bloc, Seif Makhlof, in order to hear their statements regarding reasons of the incident of the Carthage, Tunis airport and the disagreement with security personnel who supervise the airport.

Despite the multiple parties who are responsible for violence inside the Assembly, “the Compass” organization accused the presidency of the Assembly of the responsibility of what the situation reached in Assembly for some time in terms of tensions, interactions and the dominance of the climate of violence and polarization in an escalating and dangerous manner, considering that the Presidency of the Council is responsible for the good management of the parliamentary institution, calling on it to adopt The principle of transparency in all aspects of parliamentary work, including international cooperation agreements, and the necessity of adherence to the provisions of the rules of procedure in all its work.

In the midst of all these conflicts and chaos, the Assembly is discussing this week the draft laws related to the creation of the Constitutional Court, and it is likely that the office is about to approve the next April 8 to hold a plenary session to resume the election of 3 members of the Constitutional Court. It was also approved to establish a committee to investigate the circumstances of the death of the young Abd AlSalam Zayan.

The situation of the economy and journalists occupies the government this week: Is there a way out of the crisis?

This week, Government action went to discuss the economic situation in an effort to reform it and find urgent solutions to improve it. In the House of Wisdom in Carthage, Prime Minister Hecham Mechichi has supervised launching the first meetings of the House of Wisdom with the attendance of the Governor of the Central Bank, Marawan Al Abbasi and the Secretary General of the Tunisian General Labor Union, Noureddine Al Taboubi, the President of the Federation of Industry, Trade and Handicrafts, Samir Majoul and a number of economic actors in order to start the economic reform plan of the government in order to face social and economic challenges.

Prime Minister, Hecham Mechichi has said that the meeting formed an opportunity to head the observations of businessmen and social partners regarding the economic reformations program that the government is currently working on, which will be presented to the relevant international institutions. He added that there is a necessity today to put forward a new vision in the relation with the national capital which is based on economic reconciliation and enhancement of confidence, hinting again to the reconciliation law which has sparked great controversy in the Tunisian street. Today, reintroducing it again to solve the economic crisis will increase the tension and anger of citizens in light of a stifling political and health crisis. Is it possible to re-introduce this dangerous law in light of this situation?

In this context, the Prime Minister warned of the seriousness of the economic situation in the country, calling on the politicians, the authority and the opposition, to provide a political climate that would facilitate the take-off process through major economic reforms. He also warned that the continued blockage of political and economic horizons could result in the collapse over everyone. In his speech, he emphasized the work to overcome administrative obstacles facing investment, announcing that a package of measures would be issued beginning next week, most notably the exemption of some economic activities from licenses. From its side, the International Bank has confirmed that the situation in Tunisia is very difficult. In its attempt to handle the current situation, the International Bank has agreed on giving two loans worth 400 million dollars to Tunisia.

It should also be noted that the Secretary-General of the Labor Union, Noureddine Al Taboubi, emphasized that his attendance at the House of Wisdom meetings with the Prime Minister does not mean diverting the direction of the National Dialogue initiative from the President of the Republic to the Prime Minister, in order to avoid any misunderstanding that may occur in this regard.

Supporting this action, an agreement was signed between the Organization of Customs and the Tunisian-Japanese Trade Chamber in an attempt to support Tunisian-Japanese cooperation and trade exchange. The member of the Executive Office of the Organization of Customs considered that the agreement aims to introduce Tunisian capabilities and Tunisian economic institutions capable of partnering with their Japanese counterparts

Also, following what was discussed about the pollution of the Sidi Salem Dam, the Prime Minister moved to Beja to inspect the situation on Monday, March 22, 2021, in his statement, the lack of the legal and regulatory framework related to violations related to water pollution.

As for the political level, political conflicts are still ongoing between many parties. The “People want” Movement insists on charges against President Kais Saeied and this time is with evidences.as after presenting the evidence to a legal committee headed by the professor of constitutional law, Mona Karim, and examining the serious breaches and conclusive evidence about proof of foreign funding. It submitted through its legal representative, the Executive Director of the Party, Nagd Al Khalafawy, a detailed report to the Court of Accounts on Friday, March 19, 2021. The Party will make a press conference in order to inform public opinion concerning the various details of this case.

After the recent violations of journalists’ rights, which were renewed on several occasions, the most recent of which was the recent confrontations between Moussa and journalists in Parliament, Acting Interior Minister Hicham Michichi received a number of journalists to discuss ways to facilitate the work of journalists and provide them with protection, in a manner that guarantees their right to cover and transfer information on the one hand and to the security units to carry out their national duties according to the requirements of the privacy of the security work on the other hand. In addition, the two sides expressed the need to reactivate and revitalize all existing aspects of cooperation by activating a new level of partnership between the two parties, which takes into account the requirements of the stage and the specificity of the work of the security and press sectors.

The judiciary defends its independence:

in addition, the Judiciary is witnessing some conflicts as after the attempt of intervention of the acting Minister of Justice, Hasnaa Ben Suleiman, in whitening serious suspicions related to 13 judges, the Tunisian Judges Association, in a statement, called on the government and the Minister of Justice to remove their hands from Judiciary. Always within the framework of the Judiciary, the Acting Minister of Justice, during a plenary session in the Assembly on Monday, March 22, has confirmed that the Ministry of Justice doesn’t try to cover up Al Zahr Al Ekremy and Al Tayeb Rached. In addition, she has confirmed the necessity to keep this file away from all political disputes.

A breakthrough in human rights, unlike the environmental situation:

In a follow-up to the illegal youth protests that took place in the past period, on the evening of Wednesday, March 17, 2021, the human rights activist Rania Al Amdouni was released, after the appeal session was held today in the Court of First Instance in Tunisia, which decided to lay down a fine of 200 dinars. In addition, the Le Kram youth who were imprisoned during the recent protests, have been released.

As for environmental violations, after the issue of contamination of the Sidi Salem Dam, the Regional Commission for Agricultural Development in Kairouan confirmed, on Sunday, March 21, 2021, that the Al Hawarib Dam has become completely empty and the water storage inside it is zero cubic meters despite its capacity of 95 million cubic meters, during Its publication today related to the amounts of rain in the region.

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The current reserve of Nabhanna Dam water decreased to the level

The current reserve of Nabhanna Dam water decreased to the level of 6.7 million cubic meters, while its capacity is estimated at 58 million cubic meters, while the exploitable stock is estimated at 4.2 million cubic meters.

A state of anger within the Tunisian street:

In protest against the incident that occurred at the asphalt plant in Gabes last week, a number of citizens and civil society activists gathered on Wednesday, March 17, 2021 in front of the headquarters of the Gabes governorate, chanting slogans denouncing the environmental and air pollution in Gabes, calling on the supervision of the authorities to take urgent decisions to stop the bleeding of death after the death of five Workers last Saturday

From its part, the Coordination for defending the demand of Djerba governorate on Tuesday, March 16, 2021, has agreed on organizing two marches, the first one will be in Djerba Midoun on Thursday, March 18 and the second will be in Djerba Ajim on Saturday, March 20, in addition to organizing a group of activities and protests that support the demand of Djerba governorate.

In addition, a number of people with special needs from Jelma delegation of the Sidi Bou Zid, organized a protest on Wednesday, March 17, 2021, in front of the headquarter of the delegation in order to implement laws related to them in various public administration and to find solutions to alleviate problems in which they suffer from as the most important is not giving them disability cards and not enabling some of them with grants dedicated from them, as well as not employing them.

On the other hand, despite the absence of celebrations with the independence day, protests weren’t absent as on Saturday, March 20, 2021, a march on Habib Bourguiba street in the capital was organized coinciding with the revival of the independence day. Participants in the march have demanded the dissolution of the Assembly and changing the ruling system, lifting various slogans, including supporting the Speaker of the Republic “serve and people is with you” and “the people’s demand is the dissolution of the Assembly”.

On the other hand, the agents of the railways held a sudden strike on Tuesday, March 23, 2021

The transitional justice is in constant motion:

In a follow-up to the process of transitional justice, this week the list of martyrs of the revolution was published with the official gazette. The Martyrs Authority called on some of the victims whose names were not on the list to file a grievance with the Administrative Court. On the other hand, one of the civil departments of the Court of First Instance in Tunis accepted the appeal filed by the person in charge of state disputes, demands to cancel the reconciliation agreement concluded by the Truth and Dignity Commission with Imad Trabelsi.

The commission had concluded a preliminary reconciliation agreement with Imad Al Trabelsi requiring him to pay 235 million dinars for the benefit of the Tunisian state, in addition to confiscating his properties, including companies and real estate, provided that the state guarantees the redemption of bonds that have lost his liabilities amounting to more than 30 million dinars.

The Health Situation is in a continuous improvement:

The good news for this week is in the context of the health situation after the start of the vaccination process, the arrival of new vaccinations. On Wednesday, March 17, 2021, the first batch of “Pfizer” vaccinations arrived at Tunis Carthage International Airport. Dr. Faisal Ben Saleh, Director-General of Health, Dr. Al-Hashemi, Minister, Director of the National Campaign for Vaccination, Dr. Eve Suteran, Director of the Tunis Office of the World Health Organization, and Ms. Marilina Viviani, representative of the United Nations Children’s Fund, supervised receiving this batch. This batch includes 93,600 doses of the Pfizer vaccine, as part of the Kovacs vaccination system. The number of infections decreased on Monday, March 22nd, to only 217 infections.

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have received vaccinations since the beginning of the campaign.

Libiya

After Dabiba government has been granted confidence locally and internationally, Menfi seeks international and local appeasement:

The President of the Libyan Presidential Council, Dr. Mohamed Menfi together with his deputies in the Council, Mousa Al Konni and Abdallah Al Lafy seek supporting the national reconciliation and ending the state of division through local visits to regions and cities in order to meet various parties who pledged to support the 5+5 Committee and the ceasefire agreement.

In the same context and upon his arrival to Tripoli, the Special envoy of the UN Secretary General and head of its Support Mission to Libyan, Jan Kubiš has met the President of the Presidential Council, Mohamed Menfi and his deputies Mousa Al Konni and Abdallah Al Lafy, in the framework of his meetings with the Interim National Unity Government and various Libyan actors in order to accelerate implementing the road map of the Libyan Political Dialogue, including mobilizing the demanded resources and support for holding national elections. In addition, the Special Envoy of the UN Secretary General has assured to the Prime Minister of the National Unity Government, Abdel Hamid Dabiba, that his government has the unanimity of the International Community in supporting his government in order to face development, human rights, security, humane and economic challenges in the country. In addition, he let Dabiba know the results of his visit to a number of European and regional capitals together with his communication with a number of relevant parties regionally and internationally concerning the Libyan affair. They agreed on the importance of putting the people’s needs at the top of the priorities, including the response to Corona Pandemic and providing basic services. In addition, they stressed on the urgent need to approve a national budget in order to ensure providing services and allocating resources for local governance and holding national elections on the next December 24

French President Emmanuel Macron said during the press conference that mercenaries and foreign forces, including Turkish and Russian, in Libya, should leave the country as soon as possible to achieve stability, adding that he would work “with partners to defend Libyan sovereignty, and the number of priorities in Libya, which is strengthening the endowment. Shooting and holding the elections on time and unifying institutions, and affirming that the Libyans have the right to regain their full sovereignty and benefit from their wealth, again and about Paris’s support for efforts to unify the military establishment and the exit of foreign forces. Macron added that there will be no stability without peace in Libya and the eradication of terrorism.

In addition, NATO announced its readiness to strengthen security work in Libya in light of the assumption of the national unity government headed by Abdel Hamid Dabaiba, on the condition that the Libyans request this matter. The Libyan News Agency quoted NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg as saying, in a press conference on Libya, that NATO will continue its support for the peace process and security work in Libya when the Libyans decide so. Stoltenberg expressed the alliance’s welcome to the national unity government in Libya and its efforts to prepare for the elections next December..

Al Habouni’s camel: Armed militias practice slaughtering peace initiatives:

In terms of establishing community peace, (Al Habouni) embarked on a journey of peace, which he started more than a month ago on foot, dreaming of a homeland that can accommodate all. A journey on his feet, which he started from his hometown in the Musaed region on the far north of the border with Egypt, in the third week of the last February, carrying messages of love to the inhabitants of the regions he passes through

Al Habouni spent three days on foot until he reached Tobruk (eastern Libya) after he had traveled a distance of 140 kilometers, to receive a warm reception from the members of his “Haboun” tribe who gifted him a camel to complete his journey. Regarding the goals of that trip, Habouni said, in previous press statements, he dreams, like other Libyans, of establishing a state that accommodates everyone and does not separate its citizens, stressing that this journey “comes within the framework of his welcoming of the important achievements made during the past period in order to restore national unity and establish a single executive authority that ends the ongoing division since 2014.”

The welcome from everyone characterized the traveler’s journey of peace, as he traveled about 1,300 kilometers, until he reached the city of Zawiya, in western Libya, to be surprised by elements of the armed militias affiliated with the smuggler Mohamed Bahron, known as the “Rabbit”, who arrested him and slaughtered his camel, in an incident that provoked outrage. The tribe of “Haboun ” to which the arrested young man belong, issued a statement denouncing what happened to her member, stressing that this “disgraceful act” represents its perpetrators, and the tribe said in a video statement: “We received with sorrow and regret what was happened to our son who calls for peace, Abdel Aali Al Saigh from slaughtering his camel and imprisoning him by some persons who are affiliated to Zawiya city only because he raised the peace flag starting with it from the far east, trying to reunite and address living and conscious hearts. The statement appealed to “honorable, wise and sheikhs of Zawiya to quickly intervene to release the preacher of peace and ensure his safety, stressing that “no life without peace and peace is life”. Al Habouni’s brother said, in press statements, that his brother is still being imprisoned, denying the validity of what is circulating about his release, stressing that the family does not have any information about Abdel Aali after his kidnapping.

For his side, Hassan Al Sagheer,former Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Libyan Interim Government, demanded a member of the Presidential Council, Abdullah Al Lafi, who is also a member of the House of Representatives from the city of Al-Zawiya, to quickly intervene in the incident of arresting the young Abdel Aali Al Sayegh and slaughtering his camel by the Zawiya militias. Al SaSagheer said through his official account on “Facebook”: Al Lafi must move to Al Habouni’s place wherever he is, and to apologize publicly, then go to the people of Al Habouni and apologize for them. If they are militias, thus it is his mistake as an authority, and if they are otherwise, then they are his family, and he is the first to bear their mistake and apologize on their behalf.

Irregular immigrants between death and survival from ever drowning and sometimes burning:

In another context, 60 migrants were likely killed off the Libyan coast after their boat was burned, while Italy allowed the “Ocean Viking” to land 116 survivors, according to a non-governmental organization. The non-governmental organization “Alarm Phone” announced that about 60 people who were among them are missing after their boat’s engine burned off the Libyan coast, adding that on the night of Wednesday, March 17 during stormy weather, “a gray wooden boat carrying more than 100 people contacted Alarm Phone. People were terrified on the phone because the engine was on fire. Alarm Phone alerted the relevant authorities, as well as the Ocean Viking. Then the “Ocean Viking” began a search operation in vain, due to its inability to determine the coordinates of the position of the boat. Survivors spoke of the presence of Sudaneses, Senegaleses, Syrians, Pakistanis, Moroccans and Egyptians on board the ship, indicating that the Libyan fishermen rescued about 45 of them. Refugees coming from many countries, Tunisia and Libya in particular, cross to reach Europe via Italy, which has the closest coasts to the region. In total, 1,200 migrants lost their lives in 2020 in the Meditranean sea and the majority of them were trying to reach Europe through this route, according to the International Organization for Migration.

At the health level, A meeting was held in the headquarters of the National Center for Combating Diseases in the branch of Souq Al Jum’aa. This meeting included dr. Ali Al Zanati, Minister of Health in the National Unity Government with dr. Badr Al Din Al Naggar, Director of the National Center for Combating Diseases and the members of the facilitating committee for the vaccination campaign against the emerging Coronavirus. The media office of the Ministry of Health stated that the meeting It comes to see the extent of the preparedness and readiness of the committee to launch the national campaign for vaccination against Coronavirus, and to identify the most important difficulties facing its work.

The committee explained that there are (430) vaccination centers distributed all over Libya, and that the rate of readiness to receive the vaccine reached (85%). In addition, the vaccination supervisors in all municipalities have been contacted to prepare and train all health workers who are responsible for giving the vaccine. Moreover,it was contacted with the pharmacovigilance team in order to be present in all vaccination centers to notice any symptoms that may occur after receiving the vaccine. The ambulance and emergency services have been coordinated to provide an ambulance in front of each vaccination center, and the personnel who are responsible for giving the vaccine have been trained on the safe disposal of waste. In addition, 95 doctors are going to be trained in the near period to deal with any symptoms that occur as a result of taking the vaccine.

Last update : 25/03/2021 - 15:00

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Confirmed cases

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Confirmed cases

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Last update : 25/03/2021 - 15:00

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