Weekly newsletter

The weekly newsletter from 09 to 15 of september 2021

This post is also available in: Arabic

Egypt

El-Sisi launches the national strategy for human rights to flirt with the American regime and the Europeans, and he explicitly considers that the January revolution was aimed at destroying the Egyptian state.

The Egyptian human rights’ file  is becoming increasingly heavy in violations and policies aiming at dismantling the whole Human Rights system. This affected the country’s foreign policy towards the EU as well as the United States of America, which suspended $130 million in US military aid to Egypt, subject to steps being taken to improve human rights conditions. It seems that the Egyptian regime realized that it must work to improve this file before the foreign partners. It worked on a national human rights strategy, but of course that has been designed in partnership with the non-related parties that enjoy a good relation with the Egyptian regime. Besides, the most important Egyptian human rights organizations, the most famous, the oldest and the most credible, were excluded, and it became clear that these moves were only aimed at pleasing the foreign partners.

It is possible to focus on some issues that do not affect the system internally, such as deleting the religion field from the ID card, as well as releasing a few of the most important activists imprisoned without legal basis, thus proving, solely on the external level, that the regime is working seriously to develop the human rights approach in Egypt. This aims  to release the suspended aid from abroad because of the Egyptian human rights file, which can be evaluated and described as catastrophic, to say the least.

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in US military aid to Egypt

The Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al- Sisi launched, ” the National Strategy for Human Rights”, to develop policies and directions of the state in dealing with the relevant files to promote respect for all civil and political rights and social and economic and cultural ones. He described Sisi’s strategy as a “bright moment in the history of Egypt , the launch of the contemporary,” considering that it is a serious step for the advancement of human rights in Egypt , ” and that” the Egyptian vision of human rights that there is a close link between democracy and human rights, with the importance of achieving a balance between Rights and duties, and between the right of the individual and society and the need to combat corruption to ensure the enjoyment of rights and freedoms “and the obligation to preserve rights and freedoms and to enhance their respect is achieved through legislation and public policies on the one hand, and through the implementation of those legislation and policies by various national institutions and mechanisms . ” And that “this first national strategy stems from a subjective Egyptian philosophy that believes in the importance of achieving integration in the process of upgrading society, which cannot be completed without a clear national strategy for human rights that takes into account the principles and values of Egyptian society.”.

Additionally,  President Sisi announced that the 2022 year would be the ” year of civil society ,” calling for the need to continue to work  side by side with the Egyptian state institutions, to achieve sustainable development in all fields, spreading awareness of the culture of human rights. He considered that the events of 2011 were the “Announcement of the death certificate of the Egyptian state,” in reference to the 25 January Revolution.

Undersecretary of the Human Rights Committee of the National Strategy of the Egyptian Parliament includes four main axes re – claim the deletion of the religion of the Egyptian identity cards

The  undersecretary of the Human Rights Committee of the Egyptian Parliament, said that the national strategy includes a program and plan specific action which will be worked upon during 5 years and starting  2021. It  includes 4 main axes which are the civil and political rights, economic, social and cultural rights, and the rights of women and children and people with disabilities, youth and the elderly, education and capacity building in human rights, and that each axis has a program of work which includes some of the operational procedures, and contains propositions of amendments as a new legislative role in line with this strategy. The parliament’s role will be to contribute from the legislative side, and another role is to monitor the government’s performance in activating this strategy.

In the same meeting , the Egyptian journalist and media writer Ibrahim Issa demanded that the religion field be removed from the personal identity card of Egyptians, in events calling for changes in the national ID card related to beliefs , and he stated, “ I do not think that we are talking about the national strategy for human rights when we keep the field of religion. The (citizen) stands in front of the public service and employee security and the party, the official has nothing to do with the religion, “and the Minister of justice replied “ It is not important whether there is a box for religion in the personal identity card or not , but it is important to  have a proof of religion, because there are  rights that will be entitled in situations of: marriage, divorce and inheritance,  we do not have a personal status law applies to all Egyptians”

Egyptian-Israeli consultations at the highest level on the Renaissance Dam, the West Bank and Gaza, and a close breakthrough in relations with Turkey

President El-Sisi received, in Sharm El-Sheikh, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, in the presence of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Head of General Intelligence, the Head of the Israeli National Security Council, the Military Secretary of the Prime Minister, the Senior Adviser and the Israeli Ambassador in Cairo. El-Sisi said that he spoke with the Israeli Prime Minister, frankly And with courage, and indicated that he discussed the Renaissance Dam file with him, and that there is a common understanding regarding the issue and that Egypt is trying to address it within a framework of negotiation and dialogue in order to reach an agreement on the important issues considered as life or death matters.  Sisi pointed out that the meeting dealt with the situation in the Gaza Strip and the importance of Maintaining peace and the ceasefire, the importance of achieving stability and economic support in the Strip and improving the conditions of citizens in the West Bank and Gaza.

In an interview with Bloomberg, the Egyptian Prime Minister stated that diplomatic relations between Egypt and Turkey could return this year if the unresolved issues between the two countries were overcome.

The Deputy Military Governor accepts Mamdouh Hamza’s complaint, and the Administrative Court of the State Council rejects the Brotherhood’s request to release some of its members after the expiration of three quarters of the sentence

The Administrative Court of the State Council issued a final and conclusive ruling, in which it upheld the refusal to conditionally release those convicted in cases related to committing terrorism crimes, and joining extremist and terrorist groups, foremost of which is the Muslim Brotherhood, in light of the crimes they committed that represent very serious and harm the country’s security at home and abroad. This came in light of two testimonies issued by the Administrative Court, regarding the two judgments issued by the Administrative Judiciary Court (first degree) against them.

The Supreme State Security Prosecution decided to refer 14 defendants in Case No. 1360 of 2021 and restricted to No. 1233 of 2019 limiting the Supreme State Security, known in the media as returnees from Kuwait, to state security felonies. The constitution and laws, prohibiting state institutions and public authorities from carrying out their duties, assaulting the personal freedom of citizens and public liberties and rights, and harming national unity and social peace.

The Deputy Military Governor also decided to accept the grievance against the sentence issued against Engineer Mamdouh Hamza with his imprisonment for six months and his inclusion on the list of terrorist entities, which was previously issued by the First Circuit for terrorism offenses, where it was decided to cancel the ruling and re-trial before the Emergency State Security Terrorism Department.

Alaa Abdel-Fateh’s life is in danger… the ongoing abuse of activists before the courts and inside prisons

The family of the imprisoned Egyptian activist Alaa Abdel-Fattah and his lawyers expressed their fears of his suicide, two years after his arrest without trial. His sister, Mona Seif, wrote on her Facebook account, that Alaa asked his lawyer to inform his mother repare his funeral, and the lawyer, Khaled Ali, in a Facebook post, said that Alaa told him “: I am in dire conditions, I cannot bear it. Get me out of prison. I will commit suicide.”. The lawyer said that this is the first time he has found his client in these deteriorating psychological conditions: “I know Alaa well. He does not lie or manipulate, and does not say anything that he wouldn’t do.”

Alaa Abdel-Fattah’s family had filed many complaints with the judicial authorities about the mistreatment that they say he is subjected to in prison, including preventing him from exercising, entering the library, obtaining books, reading newspapers or listening to the radio. The judicial authorities did not investigate their complaints. Alaa Abdel-Fattah’s family issued a statement entitled “The deterioration of Alaa’s psychological condition is threatening his life!”

All indications confirm the state’s insistence on continuing to imprison Alaa for an inestimable period of time. Alaa is imprisoned in a cell in a high-security prison 2 in very bad conditions since the night of his arrival in prison and the assault on him to this day. The severity and bluntness of the violations practiced by the highly guarded prison administration has increased exponentially in recent months towards all prisoners in general, and towards Alaa in particular. Finally, Alaa’s family received a letter from him in the end.

The Mansoura Criminal Court decided to renew Mohamed Adel’s detention for 45 days pending investigation, this comes in case No. 4118 of 2018, Sherbeen Administration. In the case, Adel faces charges of broadcasting false news, misusing social media, and participating in a terrorist group. This is Adel’s third case, as he was rotated inside his prison. The events of his arrest date back to June 19, 2018, when the security forces arrested him while he was in the police station to spend the period of police supervision assigned to him in the “Shura Council incidents” case, but he was surprised to be interrogated for the purposes of a new case.

A group of human rights organizations issued a statement denouncing the State Security Prosecution’s decision to refer Patrick George Zaki, a researcher at the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, to trial before the Emergency Court, on charges of “spreading false news inside and outside,” for an opinion article he published two years ago. The first court session was held on Tuesday Corresponding to September 14, 2021 before the State Security Misdemeanors Court (Emergency), 2nd Division of Mansoura. According to what was stated by the State Security Prosecution, the accusation is based on an article titled “Displacement, Murder, and Narrowing: The outcome of a week in the diaries of Egypt’s Copts,” which Patrick published in July 2019 on the website “daraj”. The article deals with a week in his life as an Egyptian Christian collecting news regarding the conditions of Egyptian Christians as a private and public matter at the same time. Patrick’s referral to a trial before an exceptional court whose rulings may not be appealed, and with the “charge” of publishing a newspaper article telling the facts of his life as an Egyptian Christian, comes after 19  months of pre-trial detention without legal justification and without investigations. The Mansoura Emergency State Security Misdemeanours Court postponed the first court sessions to September 28, 2021.

The Supreme Administrative Court is victorious for personal freedoms and transcends the values ​​and principles of the Egyptian family

The Supreme Administrative Court rejected the appeal filed by the Ministers of Education and Health, the two Undersecretaries in Beheira, and the Governor of Beheira, against one of the female students, and upheld the ruling issued by the Administrative Court of Justice in Alexandria, headed by Counselor Dr. The Ministry of Health, in agreement with the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Education, expelled a female student from one of the technical secondary schools for nursing and denied her entry to the technical secondary nursing exams because she was subjected to a sexual violence incident from a person and became pregnant and accused of aborting her pregnancy, at the Hosh Issa General Hospital. The court ordered that she be able to perform the written and oral exams a few hours after she filed her complaint posterior to her release from her pre-trial detention, as no criminal judgment has been issued against her.

The facts of the case are summed up in that a female student in 2016 at one of the technical secondary schools of nursing for girls in Housh Issa Al-Buhaira affiliated to the Ministry of Health and the Supervision of Education, was subjected to an incident of sexual assault by a person which broke her hymen and forcibly raped her, which led to her pregnancy. Later, on April 2016, she had a severe miscarriage in Hosh Issa Hospital and was surprised by an accusation from the hospital that she had deliberately aborted herself. As a result, a complaint was filed under report No. 3496 of 2016 by the administration of Hosh Issa, and she was remanded in custody pending investigations, along with her rapist. With the approval of the Ministry of Education, and as soon as she was released from pre-trial detention, she resorted to the court, affected by the fact that the exams would start within hours.

Is the US president really not going to write anymore blank checks for Trump’s favourite dictator?

The administration of the US President Joe Biden decided to suspend $130 million in US military aid to Egypt, pending steps to improve human rights conditions, while at the same time agreeing to give Egypt $170 million in aid, from a $300 million tranche for the fiscal year 2020.

Egypt annually received $1.3 billion in US military aid, and despite the conditions imposed on the $300 million tranche, previous administrations exceeded those conditions and allowed the aid to be sent. Human rights groups had urged Biden to honour his promise during the presidential election campaign when he stated that he “No more blank checks for Trump’s favourite dictator,” he said, referring to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

In Egypt, being an asylum seeker or an irregular immigrant is enough to make you disappear, arrest and imprison you, or deport you, and all of this may be forcibly and without legal basis.

Latifa Erdimi, the daughter of the opposition Chadian academic and asylum seeker to Egypt, Tom Erdimi, revealed that her father disappeared after the Egyptian security services arrested him last October. According to Tom Erdimi’s card with the UNHCR in Egypt, he entered Egypt in November 2014, and registered himself with the commission after joining the UNHCR in April 2015. He obtained an asylum-seeker card in December 2019, and the daughter explained that the last message she received from her father before his disappearance in Egypt was on September 25th, and that one of her father’s friends went to his home to check on him several days after his disappearance. He did not find him while all the contents of the house were intact. She added that even his phone and computer were in the house. Later my father called him and told him that a security agency had arrested him, then the connection was cut off, and in an interview with Deutsche Welle in French, last August, the younger brother of Tom, Ali Erdimi, said that the family had physical evidence that the Egyptian authorities had arrested his brother, and while he did not specify the timing of his disappearance or what the evidence is, he explained that the last communication between them was at the end of last September.

Erdimi, 66 years old, held the position of chief official in the office of the late Chadian President Deby, with whom he is related, and he is a twin brother of the founder of the Union of Chadian Resistance Forces, who led an armed rebellion against Deby in 2009, and is currently in Qatar. Deby was killed after Clashes with gunmen in the north of the country last April, and his son was appointed as the interim president of the country until the elections. Erdimi left Chad in 2005 after disagreements with the government at the time, and turned from a government official to an opposition. Afterwards, he went to the United States of America to seek asylum, his request was rejected because his brother joined the armed opposition and this is why he came to Egypt.

During the past two months, his family organized protests in front of the Egyptian embassy in the Chadian capital, the Canadian capital, and the French capital. They are currently seeking to go to the International Criminal Court. The protests were forcibly stopped in Chad, forcibly. Yet the family members there keep protesting in front of Egyptian establishments such as Egypt Air and the Arab Contractors Company, with the aim of putting pressure on the Egyptian government to disclose his whereabouts or release him.

Two Eritrean migrants face deportation from Egypt in the next few days, after holding them in Qanater prison for more than nine years for one and over seven for the other, which a lawyer described as illegal. The security authorities subjected the two migrants to a compulsory PCR test in a hospital outside the prison, and informed them of a decision to deport them after the results of the test were declared, and forced them to sign a temporary Eritrean travel document. The first immigrant was arrested in March 2012, while trying to cross from Sudan to Libya via Egypt, seeking to migrate to Europe irregularly, and was detained in Salloum for days before being transferred to the foreigners’ ward in Qanater Men’s Prison. As for the second immigrant, he had immigrated from his country to Sudan unofficially, and in July 2013, he was kidnapped by a human trafficking gang and transferred to North Sinai. In December of the same year, his kidnappers thought that he had died under torture, so they got rid of him. A citizen later found him and handed him over to the police. He ended up, in September 2014, inside the foreigners’ ward in Qanater after moving between several places of detention.

With the support and request of Tunisia, on behalf of Egypt and Sudan, a statement from the Security Council on the Renaissance Dam shall be published

Informed sources suggested that the UN Security Council would issue an imminent statement regarding the issue of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, which it discussed in a session held on July 8, at the request of Tunisia, a non-permanent member of the council, on behalf of Egypt and Sudan, and about the most prominent items included in the draft statement expected to be issued On the authority of the President of the UN Security Council. It states to encourage Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan to resume negotiations at the invitation of the President of the African Union to quickly finalize the text of a binding and mutually acceptable agreement (Egypt and Sudan on the one hand and Ethiopia on the other) regarding the filling and operation of the Renaissance Dam, within a reasonable time frame. As well as calling on the three countries to move forward with the negotiation process led by the African Union.

epidemiological situation

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According to the Egyptian Medical Syndicate page, the number of doctors who have died in the fight against the Coronavirus

The Ministry of Health and Population confirmed that certificates of vaccination with the Coronavirus vaccine, bearing the QR Code, will be issued free of charge to all students and workers in Egyptian universities.

The speaker on behalf of the ministry of health called all students and employees of governmental colleges and private ones too to get vaccinated before the commencement of the school year. This aims at guaranteeing the educational process, he announced that registration was made available for university students coming from abroad in various faculties by allocating a box on the website to receive the Coronavirus vaccine, and allowing them to register with the passport number to facilitate them.

The head of the Allergy and Immunology Department of the Serum and Vaccine Authority confirmed that some recent studies have authorized the vaccination of pregnant women with Corona vaccines, and then the category of children. He affirmed that the coming period will include vaccination for children, and the possibility of vaccinating cancer patients with Chinese vaccines because they have no side effects.

Tunisia

Legal newsletter

The travel ban affects theatre groups and international athletes

Activists and intellectuals announced last Monday, September 13, 2021 that the Dance and Dramatic Arts Centre in El Kef Troupe was prevented from traveling to Jordan to participate in a theatre festival, citing exceptional measures.

Despite the launch of the festival’s activities and the approval of the Ministry of Culture for the performance and the acquisition of tickets, the Presidency of the Republic did not decide on the matter of allowing the band to travel despite enabling it to file the show.

In a related context, the Tunisian University of Sport Fishing announced that on Sunday, September 12, 2021, the national team member Hatem Abdallah was prevented from traveling to participate in the World Diving Fishing Championship, which will be held in Italy, on the grounds that his profession is a “company agent”.
Late on the same day, the national player Hatem Abdallah was allowed to join the national team on another plane.

The airport case: The Court of appeal recognizes the right of military courts to pursue

The spokesman for the Court of Appeal in Tunis, Habib Tarkhani, said that the accusation chamber of the Court of Appeal in Tunis approved the temporary release of lawyer Mahdi Zagrouba, accused in the case of what is known as the events of Tunis-Carthage International Airport.

In a telephone conversation with Radio Mosaique, he indicated that the indictment judge also decided to keep the case of Tunis-Carthage International Airport from the considerations of the investigative judge at the Military Court of First Instance in Tunis. This has been considered by numerous human rights active parties as a breach to the law and an attempt that challenges the presumption of innocence, the right to defence. This is the content of the statement that was published by the National Bar Association in Tunisia.

the Free Constitutional party playing the OHCHR card

The Free Constitutional Party reported that it had submitted a complaint to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights following what it described as “the continued failure of the public authorities in dismantling the association and political octopus that the Brotherhood has formed since 2011 to strike the foundations of the Tunisian societal model, spread obscurantist ideology, permeate terrorism and incite Tunisian women against the provisions of the code of personal status, national legislation and international agreements that guarantee their rights.”
A statement by the Constitutional Party, which was published on Wednesday, September 15, said that the complaint contained “the state’s repression of angry Tunisian women and preventing them from participating in the women’s protest on Friday, September 3, 2021 near the headquarters of the International Union of Muslim Scholars, the Tunis branch, to demand the closure of this dangerous “den.” and the cover-up of the power of this foreign association.

The party added that the “International Union of Muslim Scholars” has made official statements about its involvement in the “caliphate state” project and its absolute support for the Taliban movement in Afghanistan and its government consisting of people on the Security Council’s sanctions list.

Journalists Syndicate: Despite a slight decrease in attacks on journalists, attempts to seize hands continue and the Presidency of the Republic continues to blackout

The pattern of attacks against journalists and photojournalists decreased in August 2021 compared to the previous month of July, according to what was announced on Monday, September 13, 2021 by the Monitoring Unit of the Professional Safety Centre of the National Union of Tunisian Journalists.
In its executive summary of the August 2021 report, the Monitoring Unit recorded 15 attacks in August 2021 out of 20 notifications received on the unit, compared to 26 attacks out of 32 case notifications received in the last month of July.
In its report, the Syndicate called on the Presidency of the Republic to develop a clear communication plan in light of what journalists suffer from the absence of accurate information and official statements explaining communications issued by the Presidency of the Republic, and to set up a communication mechanism, such as a solid communication cell at the Presidency, or organizing special periodic press seminars in this exceptional circumstance.

It also demanded the Ministry of Interior to return the crisis cell inside it to its previous activity and to activate the mechanisms of communication with it to enable it to work in an efficient manner, urging it to seriously investigate the violent acts of its agents, preventing them from working and arbitrarily detaining field journalists in August.

It also called on it to obligate its agents to respect the freedom of journalistic work, not to interfere in journalistic work, and to place illegal obstacles on the work of journalists and photojournalists in the same month while they were covering field protests.

In a related context, the Vice-President of the National Union of Tunisian Journalists, Amira Mohamed, confirmed in the press forum program on “France 24” that the threats to press freedom are the same since 2011 until after July 25, and that attempts to lay the hand continue.

She added that the Presidency of the Republic continues to close its doors to journalists, and the Ministry of Interior and some other ministries continue the same way in depriving journalists and citizens of their right to access information.

Frozen Military Detained MP Yassine Ayari, the subject of another supportive protest

Last Saturday, September 11, 2021, the “Hope and Work” movement called for two simultaneous protests in Tunisia and France, rejecting military trials for civilians, in reference to the movement’s deputy, Yassine Ayari. It was stated by the legal representative of the movement, Malek Sayahi.

Non-regular immigration is back on the scene

Mosaique announced, quoting its correspondent in Sfax region, that naval units on the southern coasts of Sfax managed to rescue 12 migrants whose boat sank at dawn today, close to land, while two bodies were recovered and the rest are still missing. Their number is estimated between 6 and 7 people.

Agents of the National Guard region in Mahdia dismantled  three irregular immigration operations, according to National Guard spokesman Mohamad Gharred, who confirmed that among the migrants arrested in these operations was a woman with her two sons, aged 8 and 9.

National Guard agents were also able to arrest six organizers of clandestine immigration operations, in their regard to which arrest and seizure warrants were issued.

A statement from the Ministry of National Defence stated that a naval unit of the Navy rescued 100 irregular migrants of different African nationalities (36 from Côte d’Ivoire, 14 from Mali, 04 from Cameroon, 17 from Guinea, 12 from Sierra Leone, 01 from Togo and 01 from Nigeria and 06 from Senegal, 08 from Gambia and 01 from Burkina Faso) were close to drowning at the site northeast of Chebba, 10 km away.

According to the text of the communication, the survivors reported that they sailed from the coasts of Sidi Mansour in Sfax on the 6th September 2021, with the intention of sneaking across the maritime borders in the direction of the European sea.

They were boarded and taken to the main naval base in Sfax, to be handed over to the National Guard at the site to complete the legal procedures in their regard.

Political newsletter

The Tunisian General Labour Union rises against Kais Saied

In a statement today, Wednesday, September 15, 2021, the Tunisian General Labour Union stressed the necessity of determining the end of the exceptional period announced by the President of the Republic since July 25, and determining the parameters of the necessary subsequent measures to get out of the political crisis and the state of general paralysis that afflicted most state agencies, according to a consultative and participatory vision that would later contribute to the discussion of an alternative political vision and the development of a national vision for a system of government that receives popular and political legitimacy, according to the text of the statement.

In a related context, Noureddine Taboubi, Secretary-General of the Tunisian General Labour Union, in a speech on the occasion of the celebration of Flag Day in Monastir on Saturday, September 11, 2021, stressed the need to clarify the vision and addressed the President of the Republic, saying: “How will we exit from the current situation to another situation in a politically intelligent and legitimate way?”

Regarding the return of parliamentary work, he added: “We stand with you in the need for reform and change, but you say it while you are indebted by the Parliament, especially after many MPs resigned. To relieve you from the embarrassment, seek early legislative elections and after that we’ll discuss the electoral system and go through the referendum in case an agreement couldn’t be made”

Noureddine Taboubi, Secretary General of the Tunisian General Labor Union

Regarding the return of parliamentary work, he added: “We stand with you in the need for reform and change, but you say it while you are indebted by the Parliament, especially after many MPs resigned. To relieve you from the embarrassment, seek early legislative elections and after that we’ll discuss the electoral system and go through the referendum in case an agreement couldn’t be made”

He continued: ”Will the president’s consultant express his personal opinion in relation to changing the regime? It is impossible for this to be the case. These statements are not  attributed to the consultant, and there is no disparagement in the matter for anyone, but Tunisia is a state of institutions and is not managed in this way.” Taboubi considered that whoever rules the country should set an example to offer hope to the Tunisian people, saying: “Raising slogans is good, but the most important thing is to find mechanisms to implement promises.” He continued, “It is true that the Union respects the decisions and choices of the people, but every official has rights and duties that are required to be fulfilled.”

While Samir Cheffi, the Assistant Secretary-General of the Labor Union, confirmed in Midi Show on Friday, September 10, 2021, that the union is committed to having a role in deciding the future of Tunisia and the options that the country will go towards after the exceptional period, stressing that the union will not accept the role of a spectator.

He pointed out that the popular and important support for the president does not allow him to decide unitarily, stressing that the evaluation must be participatory and “we will not accept being treated as subjects.”

The union also revealed a proposal to manage the exceptional stage in a document prepared by the studies and documentation department of the labour organization that included the outlines of a plan that could be adopted in order to restore the normal functioning of state institutions and establish the next stage after carrying out a number of necessary reforms.

The text of the document stated that the proposed measures are subject to discussion, without any political alignment.

The document included four major axes related to the political, social, economic, health and anti-corruption aspects, stipulating the proposed measures and reforms and the parties concerned with them.

On the political side, the Union proposed the formation of a mini-government consisting of competencies to be formed in consultation between the Presidency of the Republic and national organizations, and not concerned with elections.

 

The document also proposes that the Presidency of the Republic provide a time limit for ending the exceptional measures, and for the final decision on the fate of the Assembly of the Representatives of the People.

Among the provisions of the document is the referral to the Court of Accounts report regarding the violations in the 2019 elections to the judiciary for trial.

The union also suggested reviewing the legal texts regulating parties, associations and the media sector.

In the field of anti-corruption, the labour organization called for the development of an approach for purpose targeting corruption at all levels. The document also included proposals to combat tax evasion and parallel trade.

On the economic and social level, the document included a proposal that provides for urgent reforms pending the implementation of major reforms.

The union also called on the head of state not to approve the economic resuscitation law, to dispense with it, and to prepare an alternative project.

On the health level, the Federation proposes a number of measures related to combating the Corona pandemic.

In a joint statement: Five parties express their absolute rejection of all calls to suspend the constitution

The Republican parties, Ettakatol, Afaq, Amal and the Democratic Current issued a joint statement on Tuesday, September 1st , expressing their absolute rejection of all calls to suspend the constitution, calling on the President of the Republic to abide by his pledges to Tunisian women and men to respect the constitution and the oath he took before assuming his duties at the head of the state.

The aforementioned parties also expressed their rejection of the combination of powers and unilateral decisions, their astonishment at the continuation of the government vacuum, and their demand for the need to assign an efficient and independent Chief of Government who is able to respond to the social and economic expectations of Tunisian women and men and solve the public finance crisis to spare the country the risks of bankruptcy, according to the statement.

It denounced “the repeated attacks on rights and freedoms, foremost of which is the right of expression and movement, the trial of civilians before the military court, and the predominance of single opinion over the media,” accusing the President of the Republic of “political responsibility for these abuses, and demanding that they stop immediately.”

The signatories to the statement also announced the continuation of consultations between them, calling on civil, political, and social-democratic forces to work jointly in order to moralize public affairs and fortify democracy against corruption and cut off the state of uncertainty and focus the state’s efforts to achieve social and economic benefits for citizens.

It also expressed its rejection of all individual initiatives to impose a political path on the country and its adherence to participatory dialogue as a method for managing public affairs in a democratic framework.

The Ennahdha movement rejects the constitutional amendment’s hints, and Dilou attacks the referendum mechanism in the absence of a Parliament

Ennahdha expressed its “categorical rejection of the attempts of some parties”, which it described as “hostile to the democratic path, especially from some close to the head of state”, to push for options that violate the rules of the constitution, which represented the basis of the country’s political and social contract since 2014.

It added in a statement on Saturday, after circulating semi-official statements about the trend towards suspending the constitution and changing the political system, perhaps through a referendum, that “the constitution represented a basis for the electoral legitimacy of all the current executive and legislative institutions, and enjoyed the consensus of most political families and broad popular approval.” .

The Ennahdha movement warned that this démarche “will inevitably lead to the regime losing legitimacy, returning to individual rule, reversing all democratic gains, guarantees of freedoms and human rights, and covenants devoid of dropped and undemocratic constitutions,” according to the same statement.

It also warned against “the danger of unilateralism in dealing with major national issues”, stressing the importance of comprehensive national dialogue and the adoption of participatory approaches in reforming the situation and completing the building of constitutional institutions from within the constitution, which everyone swore to respect and abide by, in order to uphold national sovereignty and independence as per the great national choices

The representative – in Parliament, whose competences have been frozen – for the Ennahdha movement, Samir Dilou, announced on the Midi Show program on Tuesday, September 14, 2021, that he is not against changing the constitution, but there can be forms in how to do this, and said: “If the matter will be settled on the referendum, which is considered as a return for the people, this requires conditions, the most important of which is that the referendum respects the constitution and the intermediary bodies (parties, associations and organizations) and ensures transparency.”

In this context, he called on the President of the Republic to abandon ambiguity and openly declare his position on the constitution, especially after 51 days of the announcement of exceptional measures, so that what he described as “intermediary bodies” can determine their locations and declare their positions.

He continued, “A referendum may turn into a referral process if these conditions are not set.”

Dilou considered that Ennahdha was part of the problem before July 25, but that it alone does not bear the responsibility for the crises that Tunisia experienced, adding: “But unfortunately stubbornness and denial has become contagious, and declaring receiving the message is not enough. The image, the speech and the faces, because what happened on July 25, 2021 is considered an earthquake in every sense of the word.”

Deputy Samir Dilou, whose terms of reference for the Ennahda movement have been frozen,

Libya

Will Haftar and Aqila meet with Dabaiba in Cairo?

Cairo will host the Libyan Prime Minister, Abdel Hamid al-Dabaiba, the day after the visit of the army commander, Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aqila Saleh.

Agreements and a number of memoranda of understanding with the Libyan-Egyptian Supreme Committee, and that there is no meeting with Haftar or Aguila Saleh on the Prime Minister’s agenda.

Dabaiba’s visit to Egypt comes less than 24 hours after the visit of President Saleh and Haftar to Cairo, in which the Egyptian president confirmed his country’s continued efforts to coordinate with all Libyan brothers during the coming period, in a way that contributes to ensuring the unity and cohesion of Libyan national institutions, leading to the important electoral process whether parliamentary or presidential, which is expected by the end of this year, as well as preventing foreign interference that aims primarily to implement its own agendas at the expense of the Libyan people, as well as removing all foreign forces and mercenaries from Libyan territory.

Earlier, Libyan media quoted sources described as informed that Al-Manfiand Dabaiba will conduct a visit to Egypt in conjunction with the visit of Counselor Aqila Saleh and Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar to Cairo for the December 24 election.

The Speaker of the Libyan House of Representatives, Aqila Saleh, and the Commander of the General Command Forces, Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, during a meeting in Cairo with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, affirmed the consistency of their positions with the Egyptian perspective on managing the Libyan transitional phase, especially with regard to the need to ensure the holding of presidential and parliamentary elections before the end of this year. They stressed during the meeting the need to strengthen the security track by obligating foreign parties to remove mercenary elements from Libyan territory so that the Libyan security institutions can carry out their responsibilities and tasks.

The Egyptian presidential spokesman said that the meeting, which was attended by the head of the Egyptian General Intelligence, discussed the latest developments on the Libyan arena, in light of the well-established Egyptian policy as regards Libya’s stability on the political and security levels as part of Egypt’s stability.

Al-Sisi stresses the need to hold the elections on time and searches for economic benefits from Libyan relations

Al-Sisi affirmed that Egypt will continue its efforts to coordinate with all the Libyan brothers during the coming period, in a way that contributes to the unity and cohesion of Libyan national institutions, leading to the holding of the parliamentary and presidential elections by the end of this year, as well as preventing foreign interference that aims primarily to implement its own agendas at the expense of the Libyan people, as well as the expulsion of all foreign forces and mercenaries from Libyan territory.

Radhi explained that Haftar and Aqila Saleh expressed their great appreciation for the role of Egypt, and its tireless and sincere efforts to support its brothers in Libya since the outbreak of the crisis, and its support in the historical responsibility, especially by contributing to the unification of the Libyan National Army. He stressed upon the vital role of transferring the Egyptian development experience to Libya, and for the latter to benefit from it and capabilities of well-known Egyptian companies in this regard.

Unanimously, the Security Council extends its term of office until September 30, and a positive Russian position during the decision-making, contrary to the expected

The UN Security Council unanimously adopted a technical resolution extending the mandate of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya until September 30. The first permanent deputy of Russia ensured that Mosco endorsed the draft of the technical resolution handed by Britain stating Russia’s continuous seeking to reach acceptable solutions to all parties regarding the outstanding issues related to the continuation of the mission’s work, and that the adopted resolution aims to give all parties an opportunity to reach a common denominator regarding the work of the United Nations mission in the next complex stage of the political process in Libya.

He also expressed Russia’s unwavering support for the efforts of the United Nations and its mission aimed at achieving progress in the Libyan settlement, and that the priority now lies in helping the Libyans to hold the parliamentary and presidential elections on the specified date, i.e. December 24th  of this year, and that all efforts must be focused on achieving this goal, and he hope that this represents a common goal for all members of the Security Council.

After the failure of the Political Dialogue Forum to approve a constitutional basis for the elections … the Libyan parliament issues a law to elect the president of the country directly from the people and a great opposition from the Brotherhood

In a new development, the Libyan Parliament issued a law to elect the president of the country directly from the people after the failure of the Political Dialogue Forum to approve a constitutional basis for the elections. The law met with great opposition from the Brotherhood, or what is known as the State Consultative Council headed by Brotherhood leader Khaled Al-Mashri, who often claimed that the law was unconstitutional. He criticized the legitimacy of the House of Representatives in issuing it unilaterally.

Although Al-Mashri claims to support the Libyan elections on time, his rejection of the law that establishes this entitlement provoked the indignation of some Libyans who demanded that it be put on the sanctions list because it was considered an obstacle to the political process. Experts confirm that the House of Representatives is the only one competent to issue legislation and that the State Council is advisory and its opinion is not binding, and that what Al-Mashri is doing is an incarnation of the “brotherhood’s” objection to the law.

Libyan jurist and legal specialist Abdel Hafedh Al-Senussi stated that the election law for the President of Libya is directly issued by the Libyan people, issued by the House of Representatives, is legitimate and fulfils all legal conditions. According to the outcomes of the national dialogue, Parliament is the specialist, and that the objection of the so-called State Council has no legal explanation, and that it cannot disrupt the adoption of the law in any way, and that it is an advisory council which opinion is not binding. Besides, its objection is based on its political orientation only and obstruction of the progress of the state to go forward, and that even if the constitutional department is resorted to, which has been stalled since 2016, the position of the House of Representatives would be legitimate and the texts of the articles would not contain anything unconstitutional, pointing out that the only article that some jurists find surprising is that which gives Parliament and the Commission setting the date of the elections, while the date of the elections is decided by the outcomes of the dialogue on December 24th .

The Front for Alternation and Accord reveals the recent clashes in the south with the Libyan army led by Haftar

The Front for alternation and accord in Chad revealed new information about the recent clashes with the Libyan army led by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar in southern Libya. In a statement on Facebook it stated :” We alert national and international public opinion that since Tuesday, September 14, 2021, the Tariq bin Ziyad Brigade led by one of Sons of Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, with the support of Sudanese aides and under the supervision of the special forces of the French army stationed in Libya, performed attack on one of our sites on the Libyan border, and we inform the international community, the European Union, the African Union, the Central African Association, the French and Chadian national opinion, as well as the French media, that among the attackers there are 5 French officers in charge of firing mortars, and that the aim of this attack, which was entrusted to the French special forces, is to capture or kill the head of the Executive Council of the “FACT” forces, and that the head of the front is fine and is leading the fighting and combing operations that are still ongoing, and explained that the Libyan forces failed in their attack, noting that 11 members of the attacking forces were killed, while 10 others were wounded, who are still on the battlefield, and that France is violating and despising our sovereignty and violating the principle of The cease-fire announced last spring”.

The arrest of “Hajj Hakim” after kidnapping and torturing Egyptian migrants

The Public Prosecution announced the arrest of a suspect in the kidnapping and torture of Egyptian immigrants. The Public Prosecution Office stated that, considering the fact that a number of immigrants with Egyptian nationality were detained, and various forms of torture were inflicted on them, including humiliating treatment, to force their families to pay sums of money under the weight of watching the recordings documenting the torture. The Public Prosecutor, Counselor Al-Siddiq Al-Sour, directed the Information and Communications Technology Unit to initiate a search for the perpetrators of the incident.

Later on,  the agents of the Information and Communications Technology Unit at the Attorney General’s Office and in cooperation with the Western Border Region Investigations Office identified the perpetrator of the incident, known on social media as “Hajj Hakim”. Later, they tracked and monitored him until his arrest. His statements were heard at the police department. The First Instance Prosecution Office of Al-Ajeelat has started an interrogation procedure. This procedure resulted in establishing the fact that he had perpetrated the incident of torturing the victims after depriving them of their freedom in order to obtain illegal benefits.

The investigation procedures also resulted in proving the fact that the accused was involved in the activity of criminal groups that organized irregular migration and human trafficking across several countries, and that he had recently taken over the coordination of irregular migration operations through the administration of an organization that operates under his control at home has links with other networks operating in his favour, in neighbouring countries, and thus the Public Prosecution concluded by ordering the pre-trial detention of the accused. It issued orders to arrest and bring his accomplices in committing the acts attributed to him.

epidemiological situation

The health authorities in Libya announced the registration of 1,443 new infections with the Coronavirus, the recovery of 1,903 people, and the registration of 17 deaths during the last 24 hours. The city has 3 deaths, and he indicated that the total number of people infected with the Corona virus in Libya rose to 323,930 people, including 81,838 active cases, and 4,427 people died.

With regard to the latest developments in the spread of the virus in Egypt, Tunisia and Libya :
Last update : 16/09/2021 - 15:00

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