The weekly newsletters : from 04 to November 10
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Egypt
- Egyptian Foreign Minister to Washington to meet with US officials
- Egypt announces the amendment of the terms of a "security agreement" with Israel... What are the details?
- Egypt..Taxes demand a tax return for private tutoring centers..an official clarifies
- Parliament: Demanding private lessons centers to open tax files confirms the confusion of the government’s educational policies
Executive Power: The minister of foreign affairs is in USA, Increasing the number and capabilities of border forces after amending the security agreement with Israel, and a clear conflict between ministries in dealing with private tutoring centers
The executive authority always seeks to beautify its external image through continuous coordination with the United States of America and its allies from Europe, the West and the Middle East especially the Gulf region and Israel, the Egyptian-Israeli relations have become more flexible and frank than they were before, as a result of Gulf and Arab normalization wave with Israel.
This week, the Egyptian minister of foreign affairs headed to the United States of America to prepare for the strategic dialogue between the two countries, and this was preceded by last week’s announcement by the head of the executive authority, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, to end the state of emergency, the Egyptian military spokesperson also announced this week that the Israeli side agreed to Egypt’s request to increase the number and capabilities of the border forces, such procedures had previously been difficult, both in publishing and announcing them especially in that form, the Arab-Israeli rapprochement in the face of Islamic political or armed groups has made the Israeli side more flexible in accepting such demands from the Egyptian side.
On the other hand, bureaucracy and the absence of strategies related to coordination between different ministries are still the dominant feature in dealing with each other, as if they are isolated islands and they are not united by a ministerial council in which such matters can be discussed in order to coordinate, at the same time that the Ministry of Education prepared a draft law criminalizing the establishment of these centers, the Tax Authority has demanded that the owners of these centers pay income tax for the center’s activities, despite the illegality of these centers , claiming that the goal is to combat tax evasion and include the informal economy.
- The Egyptian minister of foreign affairs Sameh Shoukry headed to Washington, to hold the strategic dialogue between Egypt and the United States, the strategic dialogue will include all aspects of cooperation relations and areas of work and strengthen them during the upcoming period, in light of the strong relations between the two countries, the dialogue deals with the most prominent regional and international issues of common interest, this comes within the framework of brainstorming with the American side on the most prominent files of cooperation and coordination between the two countries during the upcoming period.
- Egypt has officially announced the amendment of the terms of an international security agreement with Israel, to strengthen the Egyptian presence in the border area in Rafah, which will enhance security in accordance with developments and changes, the Egyptian military spokesperson said:” The joint military committee, based on the coordination meeting with the Israeli side, succeeded in amending the security agreement by allowing for more border guards along the border area in Rafah.”
- The Egyptian Tax Authority has demanded that the owners of private tutoring centers pay income tax for the center’s activities, despite the illegality of these centers. The Ministry of Education prepared a draft law criminalizing the establishment of these centers, but officials in the Tax Authority emphasized that the goal is to combat tax evasion and include the informal economy and that Center owners paying their tax has nothing to do with legalizing its status, it stressed, and this is a clear contradiction from the position of the Ministry of Education which rejects the idea of private tutoring, and the position of the Tax Authority which requires private tutoring centers to open tax files. This conflict in the positions of the government indicates the confusion of its policies regarding education and whether there’s a need for private lessons or not, and the government should clarify its policy and plan regarding private tutoring, especially since it is related to the future of students, amid a state of confusion and anxiety experienced by parents, between abiding by the directives of the Ministry of Education, despite the lack of teachers in schools or resorting to costly private tutoring.
The judiciary power is at the service of the security services
The judiciary power in Egypt persists in aligning and complying with the wishes of the security services, especially the National Security Agency and the State Security Prosecution, and it became possible for the Egyptian judiciary power to reach an unprecedented degree of bias and submission to those devices, a lawyer was charged with insulting a judiciary body for the sole reason that he argued during his plea about deficiency in investigations.
The legal harassment of the owner of Juhayna Safwan Thabet and his family also continued, which is detectable through the renewal of his and his son’s imprisonment for 45 days this week, in violation of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
- South Cairo’s Prosecution summoned lawyer Ahmed Helmy for interrogation on charges of insulting a judiciary, while the past two days witnessed a broad campaign of solidarity by a number of branch unions, which described the lawyer’s referral to the investigation as an extinction of the lawyer’s role guaranteed to him by law and the constitution, and according to what lawyer Ahmed Helmy posted on social media, he had received his summoning for investigation following a session to renew the detention of one of his clients, in which he had argued for shortcomings in the investigations of the Public Prosecution, and the lawyer said:” Today, I received a summon from the South Cairo Prosecution with a request to attend an investigation session in the memorandum submitted by the Supreme State Security Prosecution, the president of the criminal court Mr. Mohamed Kamel and a judge at the institute of Police Secretaries, on charges of insulting the prosecution, on the basis that during the pleading I argued for shortcomings in the investigations of the public prosecution, and I argued that the prosecution did not cover the material elements of the crime in its investigative questions and that these questions completely deviated from the core matter of the case and did not confront the accused with the acts attributed to her.”
- The daughter of a businessman and owner of Juhayna Food Industries, Maryam Safwan Thabet, expressed her concern regarding the absence of her father and brother from attending the session to renew his detention before the Second Circuit Terrorism at the Cairo Criminal Court, and she took a refuge in her social medias to wonder about the reasons why her mother was prevented from visiting him last Thursday, and the reasons why her father and brother were not able to meet with their lawyers during the hearing, the opposition judge had ordered the renewal of the detention of Safwan Thabet and his son, Seif, for 45 days pending case in Case No. 865 of 2020, in which they were charged with financing terrorism and the participation of a group, which was established in violation of the law, Safwan Thabet and his son, Saif, did not attend the detention renewal session, and the Code of Criminal Procedure obligates the review of the detention renewal session in the presence of the accused, however the reality is completely different , because in many cases, the security invokes the conditions of Corona and prevents some of the accused from attending the sessions of renewing their detention without a specific standard under the pretext of preventing crowding, the only measure that would prevent this is the judge’s request for a specific defendant to attend the session in response to his lawyer, However, if the judge does not accept the lawyer's request, there is no obligation for all defendants to attend the renewal session of their detention in the courtroom, the security and judicial prosecution began for the founder of the Juhayna Company who was arrested since last December, and his son who was arrested since early last February, extended to the wife of Safwan Thabet, Bahira Al-Shawi, who was charged by the State Security Prosecution on 9 October with publishing and broadcasting false news and statements, and participating in a group Terrorist and promotion of its purposes, depending on the memorandum prepared by the national security against her, the investigation with Al-Shawi, started when she posted a video on her Facebook account at the end of last September, in which she appealed to the Presidency of the Republic to look into the case of her husband and son, before the prosecution decided to release her on bail of five thousand Egyptian pounds, and since El-Shawy’s release, she has stopped broadcasting video clips to appeal to President El-Sisi to look into the case of her husband and son.
The Monsf Al-Nahar crime that shook Egypt: the arrest of the Ismailia killer
The Egyptian Public Prosecution announced the imprisonment of an accused who killed a victim and wounded two others in the city of Ismailia, and the Egyptian ministry of interior had arrested a person who beheaded a worker in a street in Ismailia
In a crime that shook Egypt, the Ministry of Interior stated in a statement that it had arrested a “psychologically shaken” in Ismailia (previously detained in a clinic for addiction treatment), who beheaded a worker with a machete, and he was uttering incomprehensible words, the Public Prosecution ordered his pre-trial detention for 4 days pending investigations, and decided to take the necessary measures to check his psychological and mental state, for what was reported in this regard, contrary to what appeared from the accused’s balance during the investigations, his re-enactment and his simulation of how he committed the incident.
- Egypt: Retrial 36 men facing execution after unfair trials before emergency courts
- November 24.. The trial of Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh and Muhammad al-Qassas in the case “440 State Security”
- Today's Harvest Sunday 7 November 2021
- Today's Harvest Monday, November 8, 2021
- Today's harvest Tuesday 9 November 2021
After lifting the state of emergency: The Emergency State Security Court continues its work and 36 men are at risk of execution based on previous emergency court convictions
Despite the announcement of the end of the state of emergency, the emergency state security courts are still carrying out their duties, On November 24, the former presidential candidate and head of the Strong Egypt Party, Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh, his deputy, Muhammad al-Qassas, his son Ahmed Aboul Fotouh, Brotherhood leaders Ibrahim Mounir and Mahmoud Ezzat, and Al Jazeera network broadcaster Ahmed Taha al-Qadi and 19 others will appear before the State Security Emergency Criminal Court on charges pressed against them by the supreme state security prosecution, also, 36 convicts are still at risk of carrying out the death sentences issued against them through unfair emergency courts, and the terrorism court departments continued to consider the renewal of the imprisonment of citizens before them.
- Despite the lifting of Egypt’s state of emergency, at least 36 men remain at risk of execution following convictions by grossly unfair emergency courts, Amnesty International said today. The organization is aware of at least two men who were executed after unfair trials by emergency courts in the past three years and calls for the 36 men to be granted re-trials that meet international fair trial standards without recourse to the death penalty, the state of emergency, which came into force in April 2017, allowed for the creation of Emergency State Security Courts (ESSCs), which are inherently unfair. Despite the lifting of the state of emergency, ongoing trials of hundreds of individuals, including human rights defenders and peaceful protesters, are set to continue. “The Egyptian president must immediately quash all death sentences passed by emergency courts and order retrials in front of regular courts without recourse to the death penalty. To impose the death penalty in grossly unfair trials where defendants are refused the right to appeal constitutes an arbitrary deprivation of the right to life,” Philip Luther, Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Research and Advocacy Director, said, “Chillingly, Egypt has already executed at least 83 people so far this year, some following convictions in proceedings that made a mockery of justice. The Egyptian authorities should immediately establish a moratorium on the use of the death penalty, with a view to abolishing this cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment once and for all.”
- Despite the abolition of the state of emergency, the Emergency State Security Criminal Court is considering, on November 24, the first trial sessions of the former presidential candidate and head of the Strong Egypt Party, Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh, his deputy, Muhammad al-Qassas, his son Ahmed Aboul Fotouh, and Brotherhood leaders Ibrahim Mounir and Mahmoud Ezzat. and Al-Jazeera broadcaster, Ahmed Taha Al-Qadi, and 19 others, in accusing them of Case No. 440 of 2018 Limiting the Security of a Supreme State, The Supreme State Security Prosecution accused Aboul Fotouh, Munir, Ezzat and 7 others of leading the terrorist Brotherhood, which aims to change the regime by force, and undertakes the implementation of hostilities against judges, members of the armed forces and the police, their leaders and their facilities, and public facilities; With the aim of overthrowing the state, disturbing public order and endangering the safety and security of society.
- The Fourth Circuit of the Cairo Criminal Court renewed the detention of 82 citizens, and the Fourth Circuit of terrorism at the Cairo Criminal Court renewed the detention of 177 citizens, the Fourth Circuit terrorism at the Cairo Criminal Court considered the renewal of the imprisonment of 165 citizens, as well as trial of Aisha Khairat al-Shater, lawyer Huda Abdel Moneim, and 29 others in Case No. 1552 of 2018, which is registered under No. 1 of 2021, emergency state security felonies, because they are accused of financing a terrorist group.
The death of a girl as a result of harassment and a life sentence against Doctor Michael Fahmy and the defendants in the Fairmont case, pending another rape case in the North Coast
- The death of a girl and another falling into a coma in Gharbia Governorate due to harassment. Safaa, a second-year university student, met her friend, Rawan, last week to print papers for her studies, in a library near their place of residence, on their way to the library, 3 young men on motorcycles obstructed the girls' way and they verbally harassed them, but the two girls ignored their words and turned away from them, trying to walk faster, but that prompted one of the young men to get off the motorcycle, and drive the tuk-tuk that was on the street, to cut off the road for the two girls. While the young man was trying to spin around the two girls with a tuk-tuk, he could not control the brakes and hit them, and then the young men fled, and the two girls were taken to the hospital, and it turned out that Safaa died as a result of internal bleeding, while Rawan sustained a fracture in her hand and fell into a coma, and the hashtag “safaa and rawen’s right” trended on social medias, and Safaa’s father asked lawyers to volunteer to defend his daughter’s right, and to arrest these young men, to receive a deterrent punishment worthy of their act.
- The North Cairo Criminal Court issued its ruling to punish the doctor, Michael Fahmy, who is accused of kidnapping 6 girls and indecently assaulting them with the help of his wife, to life imprisonment, and acquitting his wife of the charge, the Public Prosecution had ordered the referral of the doctor and his wife to the Criminal Court to punish them for kidnapping 6 female children by using deceptive means; by exploiting their young age and luring them to his house and private clinic, and he assaulted them by force after deluding them into thinking that they need treatment and special examination, according to the prosecution, Fahmy’s wife is accused of helping him in committing these crimes as she was present during his meetings with some of the victims and their relatives to reassure them about the treatment methods of her husband.
- The North Cairo Criminal Court sentenced two defendants in the “Fairmont Girl” case, as it sentenced the fugitives, Sherif El-Komy and Youssef Kara to life imprisonment, and 15 years for the arrested, Amir Zayed, the Public Prosecution accused the three defendants of having sexual intercourse with a female without her consent in a tourist village on the North Coast in 2015, an incident discovered through investigations from the Vermont girl case.
Epidemiological situation
The Egyptian ministry of health opened the registration portal to get the covid-19 vaccine for those born in 2006, as a result the vaccine becomes available to the 15-year-old after it was only allowed from the age of 18 years old.
The Ministry of Health announced that the total number that was registered in Egypt with the Corona virus is 339,335, including 284,366 cases that have been cured, and 19,186 deaths.
Tunisia
Rights Newsletter
The French government confirms the deportation of hundreds of Tunisian migrants
French government spokesman Gabriel Attal confirmed the deportation of hundreds of Tunisian migrants from French territory.
In an interview with the French channel “C News”, he said, commenting on the file of deporting irregular migrants from French territory, that “the authorities in Tunisia are cooperating in this regard, and Tunisians are being deported after obtaining consular permits.”
A legal task force to file complaints against all racist content targeting immigrants
The Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights announced the formation of a legal task force to draft and file complaints against any content of a racist and discriminatory nature targeting migrants from sub-Saharan Africa under the terms of law No. 50 of 2018 on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. The text of the announcement issued by the Forum made it clear that this procedure follows the recurrence of posts, videos, and photos on social networks spreading racist and discriminatory content as well as stereotyped images about migrants associated to crime, violence, and even terrorism. While respecting the freedom of opinion and the freedom of expression, the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights calls upon all Tunisian women and men to steer clear from hate speech and stigmatization and discrimination against migrants under all forms.
The National Federation of Municipalities is afraid of abolishing the Local Governments Code
The president of the National Federation of Municipalities and the mayor of Rawad, Adnan Bouassida, expressed his fears of abolishing the Local Governments Code and replacing it with the law of 1975, considering that local governance and the decentralization process are an important gain that has achieved its feasibility in all democracies, according to his estimation.
The prison department deliberately deprived Ben Gharbia of his rights
Professor Ahmed Sawab, the lawyer of the arrested former minister ‘Mehdi Ben Gharbia’, considered that the prison department deliberately persecuted Ben Gharbia and deprived his son of visiting him directly, which prompted him to enter a hunger strike, adding that this step is not innocent, given that the prison department is affiliated with the Minister of Justice, who is directly attached to the Carthage Palace, according to his estimation.
Sawab indicated that the experience of imprisonment or residency in hospitals had previously been experienced by Ben Gharbia, However, his actual only weakness is his deprivation of embracing his four-and-a-half-year-old son, who had lost his mother a short time ago.
He said that the situation of prisoner Ben Gharbia is a vivid image and embodiment of the President’s call to purge the country of corruption by citizens, public administrations, and the judiciary.
Sawab added that Ben Gharbia has been attending hospitals, the detention center and the prison since his arrest about a month and a half ago, during which he was exposed to what he considered a judicial persecution.
Ahmed Sawab, Mehdi Ben Gharbia’s lawyer, confirmed that his client is living in a situation of isolation inside the prison, after the prison department deliberately deprived him of watching television, receiving books and newspapers, as well as meeting his son. Adding that this matter would not have happened if the arrest of his client had come in a context other than the context of “Mr. President’s campaign.” According to his description.
National organizations and associations denounce the security dealings in the Aqrab area
On November 9, 2021, a group of national organizations and associations issued a statement condemning the use of open security violence against the people of Aqrab who rejected the forcibly open of Qana’s landfill, which had been threatening their health and lives for decades and condemned the return of security solutions in addressing structural and chronic social issues that cannot be Solve them only within the framework of effective and participatory public policies.
The organizations and associations also condemned in the strongest terms of rejection and condemnation the incident of the death of environmental activist Abdul Razzaq Lashehab, who was suffocated by tear gas, which were used randomly and abundantly to disperse the protesters, causing damage to dozens of women, elderly and children. And, they consider this heinous crime cannot be tolerated, nor its perpetrators and all their accomplices.
In addition to holding President Kais Said and his Minister of Interior fully responsibility for what happened and the consequences that will follow, they call for the opening of a serious investigation into the circumstances of the killing of the young Abdul Razzaq Al-Ashhab, considering the Ministry of Interior’s story a false one that pours into the fallacy policy and falsification of evidence.
A general strike and a march in the Tunisian town of Aqrab, following the death of a young man in a protest denouncing the opening of a landfill
On Wednesday, the people of the town of Aqrab, in the center of eastern Tunisia, carried out a general strike and a protest march following the death of a young man after Tunisian security forces fired tear gas at a demonstration refusing to reopen a landfill in the area.
Thousands of women and youth gathered in the center of the city and marched to the dumpsite, chanting slogans such as “Close the estuary”, “O citizen, victim” and “Peaceful march, no violence”, raising Tunisian flags.
Most government institutions and private commercial shops in the town closed, according to a “France Press” correspondent, while army forces were deployed to protect public facilities.
Security forces lined up in front of the “Al-Qana” landfill in Aqrab, prevented the protesters from entering and fired tear gas canisters to disperse them.
The Tunisian General Labor Union called for this strike and denounced the “brutal security intervention” against “unarmed residents” and confirmed in a statement on Tuesday that the death of the young man came “because of being directly hit by a tear gas shell, contrary to what was stated in the statement of the Ministry of Interior and its fallacies.”
The death of the young Abdel Razzak Lachhab after inhaling tear gas used by the Tunisian security forces to disperse protesters on Monday night and Tuesday in the Aqrab area of the Sfax governorate, sparked anger that fueled the protests taking place for days due to the garbage crisis.
Amnesty International: Increasingly targeting civilians by the Tunisian military judiciary for criticizing the president
Today, Wednesday, Amnesty International condemned what it said was the increasing targeting of civilians by the military judiciary in Tunisia for their sometimes public criticism of President Kais Saied.
“In the last three months alone, the military judiciary has investigated or prosecuted at least ten civilians, for a range of crimes,” the human rights organization said in a statement.
It added that four people were brought before the military judiciary “just for criticizing the president”: the journalist and presenter of political programs on the private Al-Zaytouna channel, Amer Ayyad, the two parliamentarians whose work has been suspended, Abdul Latif Al-Alawi and Yassin Al-Ayari, and the activist on social media, Salim Al-Jabali.
Political Newsletter
Political and human rights figures: The situation requires an inclusive national dialogue
Several politicians, jurists, trade unionists, academics, lawyers and media professionals considered that any reform that affects the political system, the electoral law or the constitutional status of the judiciary can only take place through an inclusive national dialogue that crystallizes options and defines the mechanisms for returning to constitutional legitimacy.
The statement issued last Tuesday and signed by more than 70 personalities stated that saving Tunisia from its stifling financial, economic and social crisis inevitably passes through a national dialogue that draws the lines and axes of the rescue program.
They affirmed that “Kais Said’s coup against the constitution is not a remedy for the previous political crisis of July 25, but rather a deepening of it and pushing the country into the unknown in light of the intensification of the financial and economic crisis and the international isolation that it experienced as a result of this coup.”
They pointed out that “the situation of rights and freedoms during the same period fell to dangerous levels, in which the country knew the measures of collective travel bans, subjecting national figures to house arrest, and in which representatives and media professionals were referred to the military judiciary, and every opponent of opinion was demonized, leading to the issuance of an international summons against the former president.” Muhammad Al-Monsef Al-Marzouki, against the background of media statements.
Ghannouchi says he is ready to resign from presidency of the parliament and calls on Said to respect the constitution
The head of the Tunisian Ennahda movement, Rached Ghannouchi, and the speaker of Parliament, whose work has been suspended by a decision of President Kais Said on July 25, said that he is ready to submit his resignation from the presidency of Parliament if this is “the solution to the crisis in which the country is floundering.” And he called on President Said to respect the constitution.
In this context, Ghannouchi said in an exclusive interview with Al-Sabah newspaper, published on its website Tuesday, “If the solution is in my resignation, I will not delay in announcing it and will withdraw from the presidency of the Assembly.” In his speech, Ghannouchi asked, “Why do they want the president of Parliament to back down without the other sovereign positions?” Considering that “the simplest democratic awareness is based on the rejection of this procedural model that belongs to tyranny.” He added that “the facts confirm that we are facing a dark experience, as Law 117 cannot be considered an expression of the ambitions of the democrats, but rather the maximum of dictatorship.”
Associations and organizations condemning political trials in Tunisia
In a joint statement, associations and organizations affirmed that “political trials disregard international standards for fair trials, and weaken the confidence of citizens in state institutions and their ability to find effective solutions to the economic and social conditions that have continued to deteriorate,” adding that these trials “greatly damage Tunisia’s reputation” on the international scene
These organizations and associations condemned in a statement issued today, Wednesday, what they considered “criminalizing freedom of expression and treason against opponents and critics of President Kais Said, especially his former predecessor Moncef Marzouki,” who was issued an international summons on November 4, due to “controversial statements,” indicating that Tunisian associations condemned these statements last October, after they saw them as “incitement to foreign interference in Tunisia’s affairs.”
These organizations considered that the parties and lobbies that obstructed the reform process in various fields, wreaked havoc in state institutions, and for ten years ignored the right of Tunisian women and men to a decent life, equality, and justice, are the biggest beneficiary today from the political and communication errors committed by the Presidency of the Republic more than three months ago.
Libiya
Elections of 24 December: Will the Paris conference resolve the discrepancy between the Electoral Commission and its legal decisions and the anger of the High Council of State and some princes and forces of Operation?
Since the High Electoral Commission announced the opening of candidacy for the parliamentary and presidential elections, it has faced sharp criticism for the accompanying legal decisions issued by the Commission, also some hints and indications coming from some members of the commission or the parliament appeared in relation to some legal texts concerning the electoral process and were legally incorrect, for example, some interpreted Article 12 of Law No. 1 of 2021 regarding the election of the head of state, and the possibility of suspending the candidate from work by force of law for a period of three days before the election day, without them understanding that this article is only obligatory for the presidential candidate, and not the applicants who do not obtain the status of a presidential candidate until after the process of accepting nominations by the High Elections Commission is completed, which also means that this article cannot be applied before that, as they may think.
Practically speaking, we find that the commission’s decision regarding receiving the voter’s card from the polling stations, which will lead to the voter going twice to the polling stations, once to receive the card, and again to conduct the voting process, and this may be a positive factor and an inducement for the reluctance of citizens from the electoral process, Will there be a clear role and position for the international community, which supports with all its might to hold the elections on time and implement the recommendations of the 5 + 5 Committee in order to disengage from such decisions issued by the Commission accompanying the process of opening of the portal for candidacy, namely Resolutions No. 73, 74, and 75 for the year 2021, and we must not forget the slogan of the 5 + 5 Committee, which is elections without mercenaries, meaning that the international community and Libyan citizens aspire, so that next December 24 will not be an election day, but rather a day when it will be announced that all foreign forces and mercenaries will leave Libyan territory, and we must not forget the slogan of the 5 + 5 Committee, which is elections without mercenaries, meaning that the international community and Libyan citizens aspire that the next December 24 will be a day when it will be announced that all foreign forces and mercenaries will leave Libyan territory and not simply an election day.
The electoral commission of Libya announced that it will begin registering candidates for parliamentary and presidential elections, the head of the electoral commission announced in a statement, that the acceptance of applications for presidential candidacy will continue until November 22, and indicated that the acceptance of applications for candidacy for the election of the House of Representatives will continue until December 7, and he stressed that the acceptance of applications for candidacy for the presidential election will be limited to the three branches of the commission in (Tripoli, Benghazi and Sebha), while applications for candidacy for the election of the House of Representatives will be accepted in all branches of the offices of the electoral administrations affiliated to the commission, and that citizens wishing to submit applications for candidacy must abide by the instructions of the admission and accreditation committees, and submit the required documents without any delay or explanation, and that the process of distributing voter cards will begin and it is no less important than the process of accepting candidacy applications.
The polling centers opened their doors on November 8, 2021, and this process will continue until the 28th of this month, during which more than 2.8 million cards will be distributed through 1,906 polling centers spread throughout Libya, The Council of the Commission issued Resolution No. (73) of 2021 regarding the regulations for candidates to elect the President of the State, and issued Resolution No. (74) of 2021 regarding the regulations for candidates to elect the House of Representatives, he also issued Resolution No. (75) of 2021 regarding authorizing the public administration to start implementing the presidential and parliamentary electoral processes simultaneously in terms of procedures.
- Al-Manfi and Dabaiba discuss preparations to participate in the “Paris Conference on Libya”
- Al-Mashri rejects the election laws and calls for sit-ins and non-participation as voters and candidates
- A statement attributed to the princes of the “volcano of anger” rejects the election laws and sets a condition for the entitlement to take place
Vice-President of the Presidential Council Moussa Al-Koni stressed the necessity of holding the elections on December 24, in respect of the will of the Libyans to determine their fate, Al-Koni called on in his speech before the national forum the legislative and executive authorities to assume their responsibility in granting legitimacy to the Libyan citizen to choose who would lead the state, He demanded from the candidates to launch election campaigns so that the citizen would know who to vote for, he added that whatever the flaws in the electoral law, elections must be held, from his part, Vice President of the Presidential Council, Abdullah Lafi, said that December 24 is a historic day that the Libyans have been waiting for to choose their representative, and it’s crucial to overcome all differences for the sake of Libya, he called on the House of Representatives and the State to compromise for the sake of Libya and reassure the Libyans that the elections will take place as promised, and pledged that the Presidential Council will respect what agreed upon in the forum for political dialogue.
During their meeting, the President of the Presidential Council, Muhammad al-Manfi, and Prime Minister of the National Unity Government, Abdel Hamid al-Dabaiba, discussed preparations to participate in the Paris Conference on Libya, which will be held next Friday, with the participation of a large number of heads of state and government, and international organizations, the media office of the Presidential Council added that during the meeting with Al-Manfei and Dabaiba a discussion about the latest political developments on the local and international arenas took place, without providing details, the French Foreign Minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, extended two invitations to al-Manfi and al-Dabaiba to attend the Paris conference scheduled for November 12, in the presence of the leaders of the countries participating in the Berlin process and the countries neighboring Libya, according to what Le Drian announced, this conference, which is the third hosted by France on Libya since 2017, aims to ratify the plan to remove mercenaries, foreign fighters and foreign forces from Libya, and provide the appropriate conditions for holding the elections scheduled for next December, according to what was confirmed by the French Foreign Minister during his speech at the International Ministerial Conference to support the stability of Libya in Tripoli a few days ago, and the Russian president along with the Turkish president will not attend this summit, while the US Vice-president will represent the United States of America at the conference which will be chaired by France, Germany and Italy, in partnership with the United Nations, as announced by Paris.
In another context, not far from the atmosphere of the elections in Libya, it seems that there is another view different from the course of the electoral process in Libya, where the President of the High Council of State, Khaled Al-Mashri, called for a peaceful civil movement, and peaceful sit-ins in front of the headquarters of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya, and the State and Parliament, the government and the High National Electoral Commission; Objecting to the flawed election laws, and urging not to participate in the upcoming elections, whether as voters or candidates, and that the international community wants to give (Marshal) Khalifa Haftar another chance through the elections after he lost the military war. We do not believe in violence, and we resorted to the judiciary, which closed its doors, and we resorted to our civil societies, and this during the meeting, in which members of the House of Representatives and the State and mayors of municipalities participated, Al-Mishri sent a message to the ambassadors and heads participating in the Paris conference, saying that allowing criminals to run for the presidency of the Libyan state Clearly equivalent to allowing Nazism to engage in political action in Germany and fascism in Italy, and this could not exist, and he wondered how to hold elections under repression? The citizens cannot travel between the south and the east, between the airports, even police cars were banned in the south. He added: We do not cling to the position, and I am keen to hold elections, but with valid and unflawed laws.
In a qualitative leap for events, a statement attributed to several princes and forces of Volcano of Rage Operation rejected the current election laws, stressing at the same time the importance of holding the elections on time, provided that it is on a constitutional basis as stipulated in the road map. The statement issued by 23 princes and forces explained Volcano of Rage Operation, and published by the Tripoli Protection Force on its Facebook page, that rejecting the election laws does not mean rejecting the principle of elections, noting that whoever issued the laws is the first obstacle to the elections, explaining that the rejection of these laws is due to their violation of the Constitutional Declaration and the Political Agreement, and that they are legally and otherwise challenged as well as it is based on any political consensus, and the statement stressed the importance of holding the elections on their scheduled date on December 24, and not allowing them to be obstructed or empty of their content, but it stressed the need for the election to be on a constitutional basis as stipulated in the road map. And it believed that this map should be dealt with and applied as an integrated package, not in a selective manner as stipulated in Security Council resolutions in particular and considered that holding presidential elections without a constitution or constitutional base is a dictatorial project, regardless of the results.
The 5 + 5 Committee is working to achieve its stated goal: elections without mercenaries
The 5 + 5 Committee is still working very actively and diligently in order to solve the problems related to the presence of armed militias, especially foreign mercenary forces, as well as to secure the electoral process on next December 24, the committee has set it upon itself as a first stage for the exit of all mercenary and foreign forces before the next electoral day, and the international community and neighboring countries are providing support for the success of the work of the 5 + 5 committee, and there are some few points that must be worked on for the safe exit of those forces.
The meetings of the Libyan Military Committee began in Cairo to discuss the withdrawal of mercenaries and foreign forces from the country. The number of mercenaries in Libya is estimated, according to the latest statistics of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and other sources, at 23,000 fighters from Libya’s southern neighbors, in addition to Syrians brought by Turkey.
The agendas of the Military Committee, during the meeting, will focus on rejecting any proposals calling for the integration of foreign elements into state institutions in the context of rebuilding the military institution, and there must be guarantees from state representatives to deport the largest group of African mercenaries and other nationalities, according to a specific timetable, if this occurs before the country’s general elections will be held on December 24. The meeting will discuss mechanisms, arrangements, and ways to persuade these countries to withdraw mercenaries from the southern region, which they take as a field for their activities. In addition to high-level security observers from Egypt, the Minister of Interior in the National Unity Government, and the head of the General Intelligence Service, Major General Abbas Kamel.
It is worth noting that the neighboring countries of Libya had called for a safe and orderly exit of mercenaries stationed in Libya, while the countries of Sudan and Chad refused to receive fighters who hold their nationalities before disarming them, which is rejected by the armed formations, the majority of which belong to factions opposed to the governments of those countries.
Discovery of more mass graves
A week cannot pass without the discovery of more mass graves that embraced everyone and did not spare anyone, starting with the foreigners working in Libya or the immigrants and refugees, passing through the foreign fighters and finally many innocent civilians and the Libyan fighters who own the land, which confirms the atrocity of the crimes committed during the civil war period, as well as an important indication of the necessity of dissolving these militias, handing over their weapons, and working to remove all foreign forces and mercenaries, as well as restructuring the security and military institutions in a way that returns to them their prestige and ability only to maintain security and stability in Libya.
A volunteer team in Bani Walid retrieved the remains of 5 unidentified bodies, which were buried years ago. The bodies were found by a volunteer team of the Al-Salam Association for Charity and Relief, on the road to the Man-made River in the Fadaraj area, east of Bani Walid, in cooperation with the Security Directorate. After the initial detection, it was found that they were buried years ago, in relation to the decomposition of the corpses at the site. Al-Tuwaijer indicated that the team transferred the corpses to Dar Al-Rahma at Bani Walid General Hospital to present them to the forensic doctor and take legal measures.
The General Authority for the Search and Identification of Missing Persons in Libya announced the discovery of 3 new graves in the Qabinah area on the Abdali Road in Tarhuna, northwest of the country, and the authority said in a statement that it would begin exhuming the bodies from the three cemeteries, and on October 13, the authority announced the withdrawal of 1,349 DNA samples from the families of the missing during the past year, and the authority said in a statement at the time, that its family registration department continues to receive the families of the missing to open Family files and DNA sampling.
Migrant evacuation flights return to safety after a hiatus of more than a year
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has evacuated 172 asylum seekers from Libya to a safe place in Niger, for the first time in a year.
172 of the most vulnerable asylum seekers from Libya to a place of safety in Niger, after Tripoli lifted the blanket ban on humanitarian flights, and that the resumption of evacuation flights is lifesaving, and given the limited number of places on these flights, they provide solutions for the most vulnerable people, who are in need desperate to security and protection, and that many of the evacuees were previously held in very difficult conditions, fell victim to human trafficking, or suffered from militia violence in Libya, and the evacuees included families, children traveling alone and an infant born just a few weeks ago. Evacuees said they were relieved to leave Libya, and UNHCR Niger is providing mental health care support to those who have faced traumatic events while in Libya. As well as providing access to education and vocational training opportunities, a total of 3,361 refugees and asylum seekers have been evicted from Libya to Niger over the past years, of whom 3,213 left to third countries through resettlement and complementary pathways, and some militias in the western region are working on trafficking in human beings and facilitating illegal immigration, and some of its leaders are internationally wanted or sanctioned.
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