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Koptische Christen gegen Muslime – Weiterer Toter bei Religionskonflikten in Ägypten

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Die Gewalt zwischen koptischen Christen und Muslimen in Ägypten nimmt weiter zu. Nach fünf Todesopfern am Freitag ist nun in Kairo eine weitere Person erschossen worden. Der Christ starb am Rande der Trauerfeier für die zuvor Getöteten.

Bei neuer Gewalt zwischen Muslimen und koptischen Christen in Ägypten ist am Sonntag ein weiterer Mensch getötet worden. Bei den Ausschreitungen vor einer Kairoer Kathedrale, bei denen die Polizei Tränengas einsetzte, wurde ein Mensch erschossen, wie die Rettungskräfte mitteilten. Am Samstag waren während Protesten gegen die islamistische Regierung in Kairo und anderen Städten mindestens acht Menschen verletzt worden.

Vier Kopten und ein Muslim waren am Freitagabend bei einer religiös motivierten Schießerei nahe Kairo getötet worden. Auslöser des Streits waren Hakenkreuz-Schmierereien von Kindern an einem islamischen Gebäude. Sechs weitere Menschen seien im Bezirk Kaljubia nördlich der Hauptstadt verletzt worden, verlautete aus Sicherheitskreisen.

Auseinandersetzungen nach Trauergottesdienst

Für die vier getöteten Christen fand am Sonntag ein Trauergottesdienst in der Kairoer St. Markus-Kathedrale statt. Die Menge in der Kirche habe in Sprechchören den Sturz der Staatsführung gefordert, berichtete ein junger Kopte. Dies sei live im Fernsehen übertragen worden. Ein anderer Kopte sagte, als der Trauerzug zum Präsidentenpalast aufgebrochen sei, habe es Auseinandersetzungen mit der Polizei gegeben. Auch Anwohner hätten sich mit den Beamten gegen die Kopten gerichtet.

AFP-Journalisten sahen, wie die Polizei Tränengassalven in Richtung der Kathedrale abfeuerte. Zivilisten, die sich hinter den Polizisten drängten, warfen mit Steinen, Flaschen und Brandbomben auf die Kopten. „Die Regierung will das so“, sagte ein älterer Kopte über die Gewalt.

Das ägyptische Innenministerium erklärte hingegen, einige Kirchgänger hätten vor der Kathedrale Autos beschädigt. Dies habe „Zusammenstöße mit den Bewohnern des Viertels ausgelöst“. Staatschef Mohammed Mursi versicherte laut Staatsfernsehen in einem Telefonat mit dem Patriarchen der orthodoxen Kopten in Ägypten, Tawadros II., er betrachte jeden Angriff auf eine Kirche als „persönlichen Angriff“.

Angriffe auf Beamte und Polizeistation

Am Samstag hatte es Proteste gegen Mursis Regierung gegeben. Vor dem Obersten Gerichtshof in Kairo setzten Demonstranten Reifen in Brand und griffen gepanzerte Polizeifahrzeuge an, die Sicherheitskräfte setzten Tränengas ein. Dort und in der südlichen Provinz Fajum habe es Verletzte gegeben, meldete Mena. In der Stadt Mahalla sei eine Polizeistation mit Benzinbomben angegriffen worden. Auch aus Alexandria wurden Ausschreitungen gemeldet.

Anlass der Proteste war der fünfte Gründungstag der Bewegung 6. April. Die Bewegung hatte großen Anteil am Sturz des früheren langjährigen Präsidenten Husni Mubarak im Februar 2011 und ist inzwischen Teil einer säkularen Koalition gegen den islamistischen Mubarak-Nachfolger Mursi.

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Koptische Christen gegen Muslime – Weiterer Toter bei Religionskonflikten in Ägypten

Tell jokes, go to jail

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STORY HIGHLIGHTS

  • Bassem Youssef was charged with mocking Egypt’s president and insulting Islam
  • Dean Obeidallah: Youssef, considered the Jon Stewart of Egypt, was performing comedy
  • He says there’s fear in the Middle East that comedy will undermine political leaders
  • Obeidallah: Will Egypt’s new president embrace democracy and freedom of expression?

Editor’s note: Dean Obeidallah, a former attorney, is a political comedian and frequent commentator on various TV networks including CNN. He is the editor of the politics blog The Dean’s Report and co-host of a new CNN podcast “The Big Three” that looks at the top three stories of the week. Follow him on Twitter @deanofcomedy.

(CNN) — Comedy scares people in power.

We saw a disturbing example this week when Egyptian TV host and comedian Bassem Youssef, frequently described as Egypt’s Jon Stewart, was charged with the crimes of mocking Egypt’s President Mohamed Morsy and insulting Islam. If convicted, Youssef could be fined and sentenced to prison.

Now, before you quickly categorize this incident under the catch all, “They hate us for our freedoms” crap, let’s not forget our own history.

Dean Obeidallah

Dean Obeidallah

Comedy legend Lenny Bruce was arrested not once but eight times, in the early 1960s for telling jokes that were considered obscene. However, Bruce’s lawyer argued that the comedian was not being prosecuted for his profanity but rather for mocking political leaders and religion.

In 1964, Bruce was convicted of violating New York’s obscenity laws and sentenced to four months of hard labor. Being sentenced to hard labor is doubly painful since comedians go into comedy to avoid hard labor. Bruce tragically died of a morphine overdose in 1966 while the appeal to his criminal conviction was pending.

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Today, a comedian in the United States is unlikely to be criminally prosecuted for profanity, mocking elected officials or ridiculing religion. (If they could, Bill Maher and countless others would probably be on death row.)

While some of our elected officials may hate being the target of comedians’ barbs, none would argue that jokes are a threat to our nation.

In the Arab world, however, stand-up comedy and satirical political comedy shows like the one Bassem Youssef hosts are a very new development. There’s a great fear in the region that this form of entertainment will undermine political leaders.

I have witnessed this anxiety firsthand while performing stand-up comedy across the Middle East.

The crowds are usually amazing. But we comedians are advised by show promoters to avoid telling jokes mocking the political leaders and religions — not just Islam, but also Christianity and Judaism. And of course, no sexual humor or profanity.

I know many of you are thinking: So what’s left to talk about? Actually, plenty. As comedians, we are accustomed to tailoring our acts to fit certain “special” shows.

In fact, while performing at a corporate event in the United States — such as for employees at an annual corporate retreat — one will generally encounter similar content boundaries: No jokes about politics, sex and religion, plus, keep it clean. (Hmm, funny how U.S. corporations and Middle Eastern governments impose the same content restrictions.)

But believe it or not, in the last few years the leash on comedians performing in the Middle East has loosened. For example, in certain countries, we had to write our comedy material out word for word so local government authorities could review it for appropriateness before a show.

Those days are gone. No one asks for scripts any longer, because the people in power have apparently become more comfortable with stand-up comedy. Some comedians have started to push the boundary by using some profanity and sexually suggestive material.

But Bassem Youssef did more. Inspired by Jon Stewart, he performed jokes about the president of Egypt by name, even mockingly dressing like him in sketches. To us, this is commonplace, but in Egypt this was unheard of. Keep in mind that until recently, Egypt was ruled by Hosni Mubarak, who limited public dissent in his almost 30 years of rule.

I always knew an Arab Jon Stewart or Chris Rock would emerge and use comedy to skewer political leaders. Youssef has become that icon. But now he’s paying for his boldness.

The question is: Will Morsy move Egypt toward embracing democracy and freedom of expression? Or will he take a step back and follow the policies of Mubarak?

Being a democratic nation entails much more than simply having elections — it means vigilantly guarding freedom of expression, including the right of all people — comedians, journalists, bloggers, critics — to poke fun or disagree with the government.

So far, early signs are not hopeful. The U.S. embassy in Cairo tweeted out a link to a segment from Monday night’s “The Daily Show” in which Stewart defended Youssef. The office of Egypt’s president responded swiftly via Twitter: “It’s inappropriate for a diplomatic mission to engage in such negative political propaganda.”

President Morsy should make it clear that the revolution in Egypt truly ushered in democracy, and along with it freedom of expression. Otherwise, the new leadership will be perceived as just another oppressive government.

The world awaits Morsy’s response.

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Join us on Facebook/CNNOpinion.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Dean Obeidallah.

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Tell jokes, go to jail

New storm in Egypt over citizen arrests

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Egyptian motorists turn back with their vehicles after protesters closed the main street by the Nile river in downtown Cairo, Egypt, Sunday, March 10, 2013. Hundreds of police officers went on strike in recent days but Egypt’s embattled interior minister, Mohammed Ibrahim, said on Sunday that he will not allow vigilante groups to fill in for his force, which has been strained by daily protests, violent clashes and harsh criticism from the media. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

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CAIRO (AP) — An official statement encouraging Egyptian civilians to arrest lawbreakers and hand them over to police has set off a new political storm in a country already mired in crisis.

A senior leader of a hard-line Islamist faction loyal to President Mohammed Morsi said his group was preparing lists of volunteers ready to take over police duties if needed.

The main opposition coalition saw the statement on citizen arrests by the attorney general’s office as a prelude to the substitution of the police by militias belonging to Morsi’s powerful Muslim Brotherhood group and allied Islamist groups who swept to power after Egypt’s uprising two years ago.

“It is now clear why the regime insists on pitting the police against the people and relying on security measures to tackle problems that need social, economic and political solutions,” the opposition National Salvation Front said in a statement on Monday.

Egypt has been embroiled in wave after wave of political protests since the 2011 uprising that ousted Hosni Mubarak’s autocratic regime.

The unrest has been fueled by the entire range of social ills from tenuous security to an unraveling economy and the leadership of Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood. The Brotherhood controls parliament as well as the presidency and has won every election since Mubarak’s ouster.

Morsi’s government says the recent wave of protests sweeping many parts of the country is a conspiracy involving both Mubarak loyalists and the mostly liberal and secular opposition to undermine the authority of a democratically elected president.

The president said in a TV interview aired last month that he would like see more regular Egyptians take the initiative in dealing with protesters such as those who block roads. He has repeatedly warned that while peaceful protests are a given in today’s Egypt, those who disrupt normal life hurt the economy and scare investors away.

The opposition statement recalled the events of Dec. 5 when Morsi supporters set upon opposition protesters camped outside the presidential palace and later arrested and interrogated dozens of them in makeshift detention centers outside the palace gates.

Later, videos posted on social networks showed the president’s supporters hitting and stripping the protesters.

“That, it is clear now, was not unrelated to the plan designed to divide the country as a prelude to the rule of the militias,” the opposition front said.

Former lawmaker Mustafa el-Nagar, a liberal opposition supporter, said the statement by the attorney general’s office would cause more divisions in the country and empower anyone to make a citizen arrest under false pretenses.

“Under our present circumstances, we cannot open the door for such action because it will open the door to civil war,” he said. “This has to be stopped and authorities must back down.”

Late Sunday night, the office of the attorney general, the country’s top prosecutor, issued a statement encouraging citizen arrests. It was attributed to a senior aide, Hassan Yassin.

Some of the offenses he cited as warranting citizen arrests have been commonplace in Egypt in the two years since the uprising and have become more frequent in recent weeks.

Among them are sabotaging state facilities, blocking roads, disrupting public transport, preventing state employees from reaching their workplace and terrorizing citizens.

The statement coincided with a partial strike by segments of the police to demand better working conditions and, in some cases, to protest what they see as an attempt by the Muslim Brotherhood to control the police. The Brotherhood denies the charge.

Meanwhile, the former jihadist group Gamaa Islamiya has begun enrolling followers in the southern province of Assiut, one of its main strongholds, in “popular committees” to maintain law and order, according to a senior leader of the group who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject. The Islamist group supports Morsi.

Lists of volunteers with their addresses and phone numbers are being compiled there, he said. When activated, they will protect state installations, direct traffic and investigate complaints by residents, he claimed.

Before Gamaa Islamiya renounced violence, it played a key part in an anti-government insurgency in the 1990s. Now, it says the police strike and civil disobedience —like that seen recently in the coastal city of Port Said — are part of a conspiracy to topple Morsi’s administration.

The group has said it would send members of its “popular committees” to the streets if police abandon their duties. Hard-line Islamists have already branded police strikes as religiously prohibited amid calls for legislation outlawing the strikes.

“We are calling on anyone anywhere who is experiencing a security vacuum to fill it with popular efforts,” Assem Abdel-Maged, a senior leader of the Gamaa, said on Monday.

Later the same night, hundreds of Gamaa members toured the city of Assiut on motorbikes, assuring residents through loudspeakers that the group was capable of ensuring security in the city and inviting Muslims and Christians to join the “popular committees.” Christians account for some 35 percent of the population in Assiut province.

A joint statement signed by 15 Islamist groups, including the Gamaa and the Brotherhood, said that they “valued” the role played by “honest policemen” and are opposed to any attempt to politicize the force.

They warned against any attempt to destabilize the country, calling on all political forces to support the police “by all possible means, including popular committees if need be.”

Egypt’s security woes date back to the days of the uprising against Mubarak, which was sparked in part by hatred for the police force over years of abuse of power and brutality.

The force melted away after the revolution’s deadliest day of clashes on Jan. 28, 2011 and police have since returned to work. But police have yet to fully take back the streets.

The security vacuum exacerbated by the striking police and violence in the heart of Cairo on Saturday appeared to be fueling the calls for creating popular committees to aid in policing.

Thousands of angry soccer fans rampaged through the heart of the capital on Saturday, attacking and setting ablaze the headquarters of the national soccer federation after they torched a police club.

The twin fires sent columns of thick black smoke billowing over the city of some 18 million. The fans were angered by the acquittal of seven of nine policemen tried for their alleged part in a soccer riot last year that killed 74 people.

Also, police pulled out from the coastal city of Port Said on Friday after days of deadly clashes with protesters who torched the security headquarters. The military is now in control of the city, which has been in open rebellion against Morsi’s rule since late January.

On Sunday, drivers of Cairo’s popular communal taxis staged a strike to protest fuel shortages, creating a traffic nightmare on the already congested streets of the city. Some of the drivers, armed with knives and guns, attacked others who did not observe the strike or got into fights with other motorists angered by their action.

The statement by the attorney general’s office raised fears that it could provide legal cover for Morsi supporters to take on anti-government protesters.

The right of civilians to make citizen arrests is enshrined in a little known article in Egypt’s penal code. The article says that such arrests should only be made when a citizen witnesses a crime that warrants holding the suspect in police custody in the run-up to a trial.

That condition, according to lawyer and rights activist Mohsen Bahnasi, assumes familiarity with the law by ordinary civilians.

“This statement paves the way for the creation of militias at a time when the country is going through a difficult transition,” he said.

____

Associated Press writer Amir Makar in Cairo and Mamdouh Thabet in Assiut contributed to this report.

Associated Press

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New storm in Egypt over citizen arrests

Krawalle nach Todesurteilen in Ägypten – Fußballfans legen Brände – ein Toter in Kairo

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In Ägypten haben Fußballfans Gebäude eines Polizeiclubs angezündet und versucht, den Schiffsverkehr auf dem Suez-Kanal zu stören. In Kairo gab es mindestens einen Toten und viele Verletzte. Grund der Ausschreitungen sind die Urteile über die Fußballkrawalle in Port Said.

Am Rande der Ausschreitungen in Ägypten nach den Urteilen zu tödlichen Fußballkrawallen im vergangenen Jahr ist nach Angaben der Rettungskräfte ein Mensch ums Leben gekommen. Ein Mann sei in der Hauptstadt Kairo erstickt, nachdem er in der Nähe des Tahrir-Platzes Tränengas eingeatmet habe, sagte der Leiter der Rettungdienste am Samstag. Ein AFP-Reporter sah einen Mann, der in einer nahegelegenen Moschee von Sanitätern für tot erklärt wurde. Es war unklar, ob es sich um dasselbe oder ein weiteres Opfer handelte. Mindestens 14 Menschen wurden nach Angaben der Polizei verletzt.

Demonstranten behindern Verkehr auf Suez-Kanal

Aus Wut über die Bestätigung von Todesurteilen gegen Fußballfans versuchten derweil Demonstranten in der Hafenstadt Port Said, die Schifffahrt auf dem Suez-Kanal zu stören. Sie lösten Augenzeugen zufolge mehrere Schnellboote aus ihrer Verankerung, damit sie in den Seeweg treiben. Nach Aussagen der Kanalbetreiber wurde der Verkehr aber nicht beeinträchtigt, berichtete die staatliche Nachrichtenagentur Mena. Bisher galt die für den internationalen Handel wichtige Wasserstraße als Tabu bei den seit Wochen immer wieder aufflammenden Protesten.

Zudem hinderten rund 2000 Demonstranten Autofähren an der Überfahrt über den Suez-Kanal. Port Said, die Stadt am nördlichen Eingang der Wasserstraße, ist zu einem Brennpunkt der jüngsten Krawalle in Ägypten geworden. Allein in der vergangenen Woche starben mindestens acht Menschen, als sich Bewohner mit der Polizei Straßenschlachten lieferten.

Polizeiclub in Flammen

Wie staatliche Medien berichteten, griffen in Kairo wütende Anhänger der Traditionsmannschaft Al-Ahli einen Polizeiclub mit Brandsätzen an. Anwohner versuchten, die brennenden Häuser des Komplexes mit Gartenschläuchen zu löschen. An anderen Gebäuden wurden Fensterscheiben zerstört, wie ein Reporter der Nachrichtenagentur AFP berichtete.

Kurz darauf stand auch der Sitz des ägyptischen Fußballverbandes EFA in der Hauptstadt in Flammen. Ein Reporter von „Al-Ahram“ (Online) berichtete zudem, dass Fans mit erbeuteten Trophäen den Sitz der EFA verließen. Auf Fernsehbildern waren hunderte sogenannte „Ultras“ zu sehen, die zum Innenministerium unterwegs waren, das in der Nähe des Tahrir-Platzes im Zentrum liegt.

Ägyptischen Medien zufolge hatte ein Polizeihubschrauber die „Ultras“ erzürnt, als sie im Al-Ahli-Stadion über das Urteil diskutieren wollten.

Umstrittene Urteile

Grund für die Empörung war die Bestätigung von 21 Todesurteilen, die Verhängung langer Haftstrafen gegen weitere Beteiligte sowie Freisprüche für sieben Polizisten, die im Einsatz waren, als vor einem Jahr rabiate Fans einer rivalisierenden Mannschaft mit brutaler Gewalt auf die Kairoer Fans losgingen. Damals kamen im

Stadion in Port Said 74 Menschen

ums Leben. Zudem lösten die Krawalle blutige Proteste und Unruhen auch in Kairo aus, bei denen weitere Menschen starben.

Militante Anhänger von Al-Ahli hatten eine zentrale Rolle bei den Protesten gespielt, die im Februar 2011 zum Sturz des langjährigen Machthabers Husni Mubarak führten. Sie vermuten, dass die blutigen Fußballkrawalle in Port Said ein Jahr später von der Polizei oder Mubarak-Anhängern aus Rache angezettelt worden waren.

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Krawalle nach Todesurteilen in Ägypten – Fußballfans legen Brände – ein Toter in Kairo

Krawalle in Ägypten – Fußballfans legen Brände und sabotieren Suez-Kanal

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In Ägypten haben Fußballfans mehrere Gebäude eines Polizeiclubs angezündet und versucht, den Schiffverkehr auf dem Suez-Kanal zu stören. Ein Gericht hatte zuvor Todesurteile gegen 21 Angeklagte wegen tödlicher Fußballkrawalle in der Hafenstadt Port Said 2012 bestätigt.

Aus Wut über die Bestätigung von Todesurteilen gegen Fußballfans haben aufgebrachte Ägypter am Samstag versucht, die Schifffahrt auf dem Suez-Kanal zu stören. In der Hafenstadt Port Said lösten Demonstranten Augenzeugen zufolge mehrere Schnellboote aus ihrer Verankerung. Nach Aussagen der Kanalbetreiber wurde der Verkehr aber nicht beeinträchtigt. Das berichtete die staatliche Nachrichtenagentur Mena. Bisher galt die für den internationalen Handel wichtige Wasserstraße als Tabu bei den seit Wochen immer wieder aufflammenden Protesten.

Die Demonstranten machten die Schnellboote Augenzeugen zufolge in der Hoffnung los, dass sie in den Seeweg treiben und vorbeifahrende Schiffe stören könnten. Zudem hinderten rund 2000 Demonstranten Autofähren an der Überfahrt über den Suez-Kanal. Port Said, die Stadt am nördlichen Eingang der Wasserstraße, ist zu einem Brennpunkt der jüngsten Krawalle in Ägypten geworden. Allein in der vergangenen Woche starben mindestens acht Menschen, als sich Bewohner mit der Polizei Straßenschlachten lieferten.

Polizeiclub und Hauptstadt in Flammen

Wie staatliche Medien am Samstag berichteten, griffen wütende Anhänger der Traditionsmannschaft Al-Ahli auch den Polizeiclub mit Brandsätzen an. Anwohner versuchten, die brennenden Häuser des Komplexes mit Gartenschläuchen zu löschen. An anderen Gebäuden wurden Fensterscheiben zerstört, wie ein Reporter der Nachrichtenagentur AFP berichtete.

Kurz darauf stand auch der Sitz des ägyptischen Fußballverbandes EFA in der Hauptstadt in Flammen. Ein Reporter von „Al-Ahram“ (Online) berichtete zudem, dass Fans mit erbeuteten Trophäen den Sitz der EFA verließen. Auf Fernsehbildern waren hunderte sogenannte Ultras zu sehen, die zum Innenministerium unterwegs waren, das in der Nähe des Tahrir-Platzes im Zentrum liegt.

Polizeihubschrauber stört Urteils-Diskussion

Ägyptischen Medien zufolge hatte ein Polizeihubschrauber die sogenannten „Ultras“ erzürnt, der über dem Al-Ahli-Stadion kreiste. Dort hatten sich die Fußballfans versammelt, um über das Urteil zu diskutieren.

Grund für die Empörung war die Bestätigung von 21 Todesurteilen, die Verhängung langer Haftstrafen gegen weitere Beteiligte sowie Freisprüche für sieben Polizisten, die im Einsatz waren, als vor einem Jahr rabiate Fans einer rivalisierenden Mannschaft mit brutaler Gewalt auf die Kairoer Fans losgingen. Damals kamen im Stadion in Port Said 74 Menschen ums Leben. Zudem lösten die Krawalle blutige Proteste und Unruhen auch in Kairo aus, bei denen weitere Menschen starben. Die Demonstranten fordern eine Rücknahme der Urteile.

Krawalle und Tote

Die im Januar in erster Instanz verhängten Todesurteile zu den Stadionkrawallen hatten in Port Said in den vergangenen Wochen heftige Krawalle ausgelöst, bei denen mehrere Menschen getötet wurden.

Militante Anhänger von Al-Ahli hatten eine zentrale Rolle bei den Protesten gespielt, die im Februar 2011 zum Sturz des langjährigen Machthabers Husni Mubarak führten. Die Al-Ahli-Anhänger vermuten, dass die blutigen Fußballkrawalle in Port Said ein Jahr später von der Polizei oder Mubarak-Anhängern aus Rache angezettelt worden waren.

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Krawalle in Ägypten – Fußballfans legen Brände und sabotieren Suez-Kanal

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Video of police abuse stokes anger in Egypt

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Egyptian riot police beat a man, after stripping him, and before dragging him into a police van, during clashes next to the presidential palace in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, Feb. 1, 2013. Protesters denouncing Egypt’s Islamist president hurled stones and firebombs through the gates of his palace gates on Friday, clashing with security forces who fired tear gas and water cannons, as more than a week of political violence came to Mohammed Morsi’s symbolic doorstep for the first time. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

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CAIRO (AP) — Egypt’s Interior Ministry offered a rare expression of regret Saturday after riot police were caught on camera a day earlier beating a protester who had been stripped of his clothes, and then dragging the naked man along the muddy pavement before bundling him into a police van.

The video of the beating, which took place late Friday only blocks from the presidential palace where protests were raging in the streets, further inflamed popular anger with security forces just as several thousand anti-government demonstrators marched on the palace again on Saturday. The uprising that toppled longtime leader Hosni Mubarak in 2011 was fueled in part by anger over police brutality.

In the footage aired live on Egyptian TV, at least seven black-clad riot police used sticks to beat 48-year-old Hamada Saber, who was sprawled out on the ground, shirtless and with his pants down around his ankles.

In a statement, the Interior Ministry voiced its “regret” about the assault, and vowed to investigate. But it also sought to distance itself — and the police in general — from the abuse, saying it “was carried out by individuals that do not represent in any way the doctrine of all policemen who direct their efforts to protecting the security and stability of the nation and sacrifice their lives to protect civilians.”

Later in the day, however, Interior Minister Mohammed Ibrahim put the blame elsewhere entirely, saying initial results from the public prosecutor’s investigation indicated that Saber was undressed by “rioters” during skirmishes between police and protesters.

“The Central Security Forces then found him lying on the ground and tried to put him in an armored vehicle, though the way in which they did that was excessive,” Ibrahim said.

President Mohammed Morsi’s office called Saber’s beating “shocking”, but stressed that violence and vandalism of government property is unacceptable.

The abuse took place as thousands of protesters chanted against President Mohammed Morsi on Friday. The march was part of a wave of demonstrations that have rocked Egypt since last week’s second anniversary of the 2011 revolt, leaving more than 60 people dead and plunging the country into turmoil once again.

In what appeared to be an effort to protect the police from a harsh backlash over the video, Ibrahim said that nearly 400 policemen have been wounded this past week in clashes, and warned that the disintegration of police will lead to even wider-spread chaos in the Arab world’s most populous nation.

“The collapse of police will affect Egypt and transform it into a militia state like some neighboring nations,” Ibrahim said, alluding to Libya where militias comprise the bulk of security after that nation’s uprising.

Already some Islamists have warned they could set up militias to protect their interests, while a group calling itself “Black Bloc” whose followers wear black masks claim to defend protesters opposed to the Islamist president’s rule.

Rights groups have accused Morsi of not taking steps to reform the Interior Ministry, which was the backbone of Mubarak’s regime. Police under Mubarak were notorious for using excessive force against protesters and beating those in custody.

In a defining image of post-Mubarak violence against protesters, Egyptians were outraged last year when military police were caught on camera dragging a veiled woman through the streets during a protest, pulling her conservative black robe over her head and revealing her blue bra.

Protesters and rights groups have accused police of using excessive force this past week during a wave of mass demonstrations in cities around the country called by opposition politicians, trying to wrest concessions from Morsi.

But many protesters go further, saying Morsi must be removed from office. They are accusing his Muslim Brotherhood of monopolizing power and of failing to deal with the country’s mounting woes. Many have been further angered by Morsi’s praise of the security forces after the high death toll. Some have taken to attacking government buildings, from prisons to police stations to courthouses.

The chaos prompted Morsi to order a limited curfew in three provinces and the deployment of the military to the streets.

The main opposition National Salvation Front said Saturday that the “gruesome images” of Saber’s beating demand the interior minister’s resignation.

Also Saturday, Prime Minister Hisham Kandil visited Cairo’s Tahrir Square and the area around the presidential palace. He said those who are camped out there are neither protesters nor revolutionaries. He said protesters “do not torch, attack hotels, rape women, steal from shops, they do not burn the presidential palace.”

In an impassioned speech Saturday carried live on Egyptian state TV, Kandil said the street violence and political unrest that has engulfed the country for more than a week is threatening the nation’s already ailing economy.

“The Egyptian economy is bleeding,” he said. “It is holding itself, but if this situation persists it will be dangerous, extremely dangerous.”

Foreign currency earners such as tourism and foreign investment have dried up in the past two years of political unrest. Foreign reserves currently estimate at around $15 billion, less than half of where it stood before the 2011 uprising that ousted Mubarak. The Egyptian pound has also lost around four percent of its value due to the turmoil and planned austerity measures threaten to curb subsidies relied on by millions of poor Egyptians.

Kandil called on the opposition to back away from any more protests or marches.

Also Saturday, Mubarak’s former interior minister, Habib al-Adly, was found guilty of abusing his position by forcing police conscripts to work on his mansion and land outside Cairo. Both he and former riot police chief Hassan Abdel-Hamid were sentenced to three years in prison and fined around $340,000. The verdict can be appealed.

Al-Adly is already serving time for corruption and was sentenced to life in prison with Mubarak for failing to prevent the killing of nearly 900 protesters during the 2011 revolt that ousted the longtime leader. Both men appealed, and will be given a retrial.

Associated Press

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Video of police abuse stokes anger in Egypt

Egypt’s veiled presenters on state TV for 1st time

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CAIRO (AP) — Wearing a cream-colored headscarf and a dark suit, Fatma Nabil read the 12 o’clock news bulletin on Sunday and became Egypt’s first female news presenter ever to appear on state television while wearing a veil.

Nabil and several other female news presenters scheduled to go on air mark the end of a ban on presenters wearing the Muslim head covering, a policy that state TV has enforced throughout the half century of its existence.

A large majority of Egyptian women cover their hair. But under the ousted secular-leaning President Hosni Mubarak and his predecessors, female TV employees who did so would be asked to take jobs away from the cameras. Some sued against the policy and won, but a Ministry of Information run by staunch regime loyalists would ignore the rulings.

The end result was that the faces on state TV mirrored those of the wives of the ruling elite, where the style was set by women like the well-coiffed First Lady Suzanne Mubarak.

Mubarak’s overthrow in a 2011 uprising, and the subsequent election of Islamist Mohammed Morsi as president, put a new face on power. Morsi wears an Islamic beard, and the country’s new First Lady Naglaa Mahmoud covers not just her hair but the entire upper half of her body, minus her face — a veiling style associated with the working class.

The vast majority of Muslim Egyptian women wear some form of head covering — from stylish scarves to Mahmoud’s khaimar body-covering to the full face-covering niqab. Privately-owned networks have long employed veiled presenters and many famous actresses have taken the veil and continued to appear in soap operas aired on state TV.

But TV presenters represented one form of employment — others included hotel and airline work — where the government apparently wanted to promote a vision of “modernity” that it considered incompatible with veiling.

Nabil worked for a year in the Muslim Brotherhood TV network Misr 25 after she was barred by TV from appearing on air because of her veil. With Morsi’s election and the appointment of the new Information Minister, Salah Abdel-Maksoud, who is a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, she said she was given “the green light” to come back to state TV.

“Now the standards have nothing to do with the veil, which is a personal choice, but are all about professional skills and intellect,” she said.

But critics perceive the appearance of veiled women not as a breakthrough in personal freedom but a cosmetic change: State employees they say will s
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till take their cues from the ruling elite, but from an Islamic one rather than a secular one.

In the aftermath of last year’s uprising, revolutionary groups said the Ministry of Information should be abolished altogether to ensure media freedom.

Current Information Minister Abdel-Maksoud has said that he will be Egypt’s last. But many liberals and journalists are skeptical. They protested the latest shuffle of state editors by the Islamist-dominated upper house of parliament or Shura Council, where most of the 50 new appointees were either Islamists or sympathizers. Egypt’s union of journalists has accused the Brotherhood of trying to make the press its mouthpiece.

In several incidents, journalists say, the new editors-in-chief have censored anti-Islamist columnists. In others they have fawned on Morsi as they once did on Mubarak. State-owned October magazine ran a cover page last month depicting the president as a knight riding a horse and with a subtitle, “The revolution takes off.”

“I want to see state media tell the truth and to stop serving the ruler, whoever the ruler is,” said Farida el-Shoubashi, a media expert. “I don’t want the state media to tell me that the president weeps while he prays. I want to know how to the president is going to lift the country’s battered economy.”

Associated Press

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Egypt’s veiled presenters on state TV for 1st time

Egypt airstrikes target militants in Sinai

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An Egyptian soldier carries the body of Tarek Mohammed, one of 16 Egyptian soldiers who were killed Sunday, Aug. 5, 2012, during an attack at a checkpoint along the Sinai border with Israel by Islamic militants with purported ties to Gaza, during the military funeral in Cairo, Egypt, Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2012. Mourners prayed for the dead at a mosque in an east Cairo suburb on Tuesday. The coffins, wrapped in Egypt’s red-white-and-black flag, were later taken to a nearby square where a military ceremony is under way. Arabic on the coffin reads, “Marytr Tarek Mohammed.” (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)

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EL-ARISH, Egypt (AP) — Egyptian military attack helicopters fired missiles on suspected Islamic militants in the Sinai Peninsula on Wednesday, officials and residents said, in the first Egyptian airstrike in the territory since 1973 in the wake of the bloodiest ever militant attacks on the army.

The use of air power marked a sharp escalation in Egypt’s fight against Islamic militants who have become increasingly active in the mountainous, desert peninsula bordering Israel. Earlier this week, militants stunned the Egyptian army with a bold, surprise attack in which gunmen killed 16 soldiers, stole armored vehicles and drove into Israel to attempt another attack.

In a statement read out on state TV, the military said it has started a joint military-police ground operation in Sinai, backed by warplanes, to “restore stability and regain control” of the Sinai. It provided little detail.

The Sunday ambush was one of the bloodiest attacks in Sinai in years and the deadliest against Egyptian troops, underlining the growing lawlessness of the territory, where security forces repeatedly have been targeted by militants, some loosely linked with al-Qaida.

In the latest violence, gunmen opened fire late Tuesday night on three security checkpoints around el-Arish, the capital of North Sinai province, some 50 kilometers (31 miles) from the borders with Gaza and Israel. One of the attacks was on the checkpoint on the main highway between el-Arish and the town of Rafah on the Israeli border.

The shootings wounded six people, among them a military officer, two soldiers, two policemen and a civilian whose condition is critical, security officials told The Associated Press. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the press.

Helicopters carried out strikes using missiles in retaliation later, security officials said. They did not give further detail.

Bedouin resident Abdel Rahman Abol Malkhous says he saw attack helicopters overhead firing missiles about 30 kilometers (18 1/2 miles) east of El-Arish in the area known as Sheikh Zuwayed near the Rafah border crossing with Gaza.

The security officials said it was the first time the army has fired missiles in Sinai since Egypt’s 1973 war with Israel, in which Egypt tried to recapture the then-Israeli held peninsula. Sinai reverted to Egyptian control under Cairo’s 1979 peace treaty with Egypt. Israeli forces completed the withdrawal from the peninsula in 1982.

Sinai has seen lawlessness and militant violence in the past, but it took a turn to the worst after the uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak in February 2011. Amid the uprising, police and internal security forces all but disappeared from the streets across the country. In Sinai, militants have grown steadily bolder.

Residents say the militants far better armed than the security forces on the ground, which have repeatedly come under attack by militants. Since Mubarak’s ouster, some of the groups have distributed fliers in Sinai urging the forces to leave the peninsula because, they say, it will be declared an Islamic state.

Under the peace treaty with Israel, a large chunk of Sinai is to be demilitarized. But in 2005 and following Mubarak’s ouster last year, Israel agreed to boost the number of troops in the area, although they remain lightly armed. The Sunday attack spurred renewed calls in Egypt to amend the 1979 treaty to allow for more troops and ammunition in Sinai.

Associated Press

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Egypt airstrikes target militants in Sinai

Berlusconi tells court girls played "burlesque games"

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MILAN (Reuters) – Young women dressing up as nuns at parties hosted by Silvio Berlusconi were just playing a “burlesque game”, the former Italian premier said on Friday at his first appearance at a trial on charges he paid for sex with an underage prostitute.

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Berlusconi tells court girls played "burlesque games"

Berlusconi tells court girls played "burlesque games"

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MILAN (Reuters) – Young women dressing up as nuns at parties hosted by Silvio Berlusconi were just playing a “burlesque game”, the former Italian premier said on Friday at his first appearance at a trial on charges he paid for sex with an underage prostitute.

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Berlusconi tells court girls played "burlesque games"