On Tuesday, an Egyptian criminal court convicted 43 American, European, Egyptian and other Arab NGO workers for using illegal foreign funding to foment “civil unrest and raising fear” within Egypt’s society.

Judge Makram Awad sentenced 27 defendants in absentia to five years prison, including 15 U.S citizens. These defendants had long left Egypt, including Sam LaHood, son of the U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, who received a five-year jail term.

Five defendants who were present in Egypt, including one American, were sentenced to two years and obliged to pay a fine of 1,000 L.E. Another 11 were given one-year suspended sentences. The judge ordered the permanent closure of the branches of the NGOs where the staffers worked and their funds to be confiscated.

These sentences follow the crackdown, which formally began in December 2011 with raids by Egyptian security forces in the offices of foreign NGOs.
The attack on the NGOs led to the worst crisis between Egypt and the U.S in decades, and these sentences threaten to cut the flow of $1.3 billion in annual American (military) aid.

Secretary of State, John Kerry issued a statement expressing U.S government concern regarding the ruling and the final sentences. John Kerry said that the “decision runs contrary to the universal principle of freedom of association and is incompatible with the transition to democracy.” He insisted on the urge of the Egyptian government to ” work with civic groups as they respond to the Egyptian people’s aspirations for democracy as guaranteed in Egypt’s new constitution.”

This is another attack on Egyptian civil society. And, as if these trials were not enough, Morsi’s government is in the process of implementing a new law targeting NGOs that will only further constrain civil society.

The draft law is based on the Freedom and Justice Party’s draft law that was submitted to the Shura Council in March 2013.The new law would entail that all foreign funding for NGOs in Egypt should be accepted by a committee including government representatives, which will lead to an increasing government’s monitoring of NGOs operations.

While all sectors agree on the antidemocratic of this draft, Morsi’s government trough its Foreign Policy Blog asserts that the NGO draft law proposed by the Presidency “affirms the basic concepts of access, empowerment, and supporting various forms of civil work upon which the law is based while taking into account the principles of transparency, respect for the constitution and law, and open to different experiences around the world in the field of civil work.”Funny, isn’t it?

Largely ignoring the advices and warnings from national and international players, the Egyptian government is pushing for a law that will restrict and asphyxiate civil society groups and organizations. Draconian measures that once again, show Egypt's corrupt justice system and government.

The issues of sexual harassment and gender-based violence have their deepest roots in a problematic conception of the notions of power and control.

That means, when there is an unequal distribution of power within the society, certain groups are always able to exert control over others in different ways. 
Starting from the bigger picture, the state apparatus in Egypt has enforced its power over the will of its citizens through decades of inflexible dictatorships, with total impunity, and through policies that support and perpetuate structural violence within the society, the state has been able to impose its will on the population.

All these years of drastic repression have caused and nurtured deep feelings of oppression, powerlessness and shame among the citizens. In addition to this, the high rates of unemployment, the increasing gap between the different socioeconomic classes and the widespread corruption throughout the country, have only cultivated dissatisfaction among the people. 
Throughout the years, the feeling of inferiority has affected Egyptians not only on a personal level but also on a national scale.

The wide variety of negligent actions carried out by the state has exacerbated the feelings of psychological inferiority and humiliation over time, which has led to have as a result material and more important, immaterial and psychological repercussions. 
It is some of these repercussions that led to the uprising in Egypt in January 2011.

Without considering the opinion of the people, Morsi’s government continues to perpetuate the structural violence that has affected Egypt for decades.
 Once more, the state nepotism feeds the feelings of powerlessness and inferiority of the people and again; these feelings are transformed into different behaviors. Sectors of the male Egyptian society reflect their sense of humiliation and shame into the willingness to participate in group harassments and the assault of vulnerable targets, which in this case, are women. 


The chance of expressing power through gender-based violence is presented to these men as appealing, and as a way to redeem their feelings of inferiority and self-hatred. The attackers find that the state facilitates their task with a weak judiciary system that gives them impunity, and that does not ask for any kind of accountability.

In the post-revolution period, many things could have been achieved regarding women’s rights, but these demands were overshadowed by other causes such as national self-determination of democratic governance. Many men, including many revolutionaries who were in Tahrir demanding their freedom, however it was not the right moment to address the issues of women’s rights and gender equality.


Once the euphoria of the revolution was appeased, women have been blatantly excluded from the building of the new Egypt. Women do not have a representation in the government, and they have not had a voice in the drafting process of the new constitution.

With this new government, women face the threat of not only being ignored, but undermined and disrespected trough the different laws and policies implemented. Sexual violence continues to be an issue forgotten by an apathetic government that disregards its responsibility of guaranteeing the safety of its citizens, especially women. 

The escalation of gender-based violence fueled by structural violence and worsening sociopolitical conditions, will never disappear nor decrease with the state policies that reinforces its impunity for criminals and the exclusion of women from the public sphere.

Police captured the surviving Boston Marathon bombing suspect, seriously wounded in a backyard boat. The oldest of the Tsarnaev brothers and first suspect, was shot dead the day before after a harrowing car chase followed by a gun battle.

The capture of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev puts an end to five days of terror and anxiety for Boston, propagated by the double bombing at the marathon, which killed three people and wounded 176.

The horrific bombing has already aggravated the problematic gun-control debate in the United States, more alive than ever. After the two brothers behind the attack were found to be armed, the debate would become especially significant if they discover that the Tsarnaevs obtained their firearms illegally.

On the one hand, supporters of gun ownership claim that attacks such as the one in Boston and the violent chase that followed it to capture the suspects are enough reasons why all citizens should have the right to be “prepared” in case they had to face a similar threat. Pro-gun advocates insist on everyone’s right to defend themselves in dangerous circumstances.

On the other hand, gun-control advocates claim there is no relation between mass attacks, such as the Boston bombing, and the need to keep firearms at home. They also warn about the danger of not having a strong regulatory system that traces and monitors all gun sales in order to prevent more tragedies, such as the school shooting in Newtown, from happening. Gun-control supporters demand a clear action on the federal level that ensuresstricter firearms legislation.

Inevitably, those who oppose any regulations of firearms will find in this dreadful incident one more reason to be “ready”. However, Boston marathon bombing is an example of an incident in which armed citizens would not have been more capable of stopping the violence than the unarmed.

Tahrir Bodyguard is a group that was established through a Twitter account in late 2012 as a response to sexual assault and harassment during demonstrations in Tahrir Square. Scoop Empire recently met with a representative of Tahrir Bodyguard to discuss the group’s plans for the second anniversary of the 25 January, 2011 uprising, as well as how it hopes to tackle sexual harassment in Egypt beyond Tahrir Square in the future.

How did Tahrir Bodyguard begin?

TB: The group began as one woman’s rather spontaneous response to a frustration and difficulty we all face when taking to the streets with other Egyptians. A half-Egyptian, this woman was preparing to join in demonstrations, but was held back by her fear of being assaulted. She channeled these emotions by creating the Tahrir Bodyguard account on Twitter. What she didn’t realize in that moment was what a significant act this was and the account quickly gained many followers and overwhelming support from men and women, Egyptians and non-Egyptians alike.

What is your current goal?

TB: Our primary goal is to make Tahrir Square and all places of demonstration safe spaces for women. The voices and actions of women were central to the fall of Mubarak and we want to ensure that women continue to feel comfortable publicly expressing their views in open spaces alongside with their fellow countrymen. To do this, our members patrol protest areas and intervene when they see potential sexual assaults taking place. Men and women can also send us Tweets to alert us about areas that seem unsafe or where an assault is occurring. We hope that as more people are aware of our presence (and the presence of similar groups) during demonstrations, they will be deterred from committing sexual assaults.

We are always recruiting male and female volunteers and especially plan to have a large Tahrir Bodyguard presence in the Square this Friday for the second anniversary of 25 January. We encourage everyone to email us at tahrir.bodyguard@gmail.com to find out how they can get involved.

When the protests come to an end, do you plan to continue working?

TB: The issue that Tahrir Bodyguard is addressing is one that has its roots far beyond Tahrir Square or political demonstrations. Women should always feel comfortable to express themselves and walk free of fear in public spaces. We aim to have this movement be one that promotes an overall culture that rejects and fights all forms of sexual harassment. We are a young organization and are currently focused on demonstration zones, but with continued dedicated membership we may be able to take more widespread action in the future.

What else needs to be done in the area of tackling sexual harassment?

Many Egyptians are opposed to sexual harassment, but we need to do more to raise our voices and take unified action to address this issue. The more that people join groups like ours, discuss harassment with family and friends, and vocally denounce it when they see it occurring, the closer we will be to reversing these trends. Awareness raising campaigns and community organization are a start that will hopefully lead to more legal action being taken to protect women and punish perpetrators.

Find them on Twitter ( @TahrirBodyguard) and Facebook.

On Thursday, president Mohamed Morsi appointed the former Vice President Mahmoud Mekky as Egypt’s new ambassador to the Vatican.

Morsi, previously appointed prosecutor general under Mubarak’s rule, Abdel-Meguid Mahmoud as Egypt’s ambassador to the Vatican in an attempt to dismiss him from his position. However, Abdel-Meguid maintained his position until he was dismissed 26 November and replaced by Islamist-oriented TalaatAbdallah. 

Mekky, held the vice-presidency from 12 August until 22 December and announced his resignation during the second round of the constitutional referendum. Mahmoud Mekky who first submitted his resignation the first week of November, decided to postpone his decision when Egypt was intervening as a mediator inthe crisis in Gaza. When he resigned from his post, he did it because, according to his words, the political nature of the work did not fit his career as a judge.

Mekky, who was a prominent member of the independent judges movement, was in jail during Mubarak’s government for speaking out against election fraud.

The Court of Cassation has accepted Hosni Mubarak’s appeal of his life sentence and has ordered the retrial of the former president and his former security chief, Habib el Adly, who is also serving a life sentence. 

In June 2012 Mubarak was sentenced and immediately after imprisoned for failing to halt the killing of 900 peaceful demonstrators in the protests that took place against his regime in February 2011.  El Adly was accused n the same charges. 

After Sunday’s ruling, read out by judge Ali Ahmed Abdel Rahman, a number of Mubarak supporters gathered in the court expressed their gladness upon hearing the verdict of the retrial. However, Mubarak is being held in custody for investigation on several other charges, and he will not walk free for now. 

The court has accepted the appeals from the prosecution as well, who requested the overturn of the non-guilty verdicts on Mubarak, his two sons Alaa and Gamal and Hussein Salem on corruption charges. 

Six of Habib el Adly’s aides, sentenced also in June 2012, will be included in the retrial. Five of them were found non-guilty of the killing of demonstrators. 

The verdict came out one day after the Prosecutor Office of Public Funds accused Mubarak on a new charge of corruption. The prosecutor ordered his detention for allegedly receiving presents worth millions of pounds from Egypt’s newspaper Al Ahram.

According to Iranian state TV, Syrian rebels have freed 48 Iranian hostages kidnapped by Syrian rebel groups in August 2012, in the road that goes from the airport to the city of Damascus. 

According to the Turkish aid agency IHH (Humanitarian Relief Foundation), which is coordinating the negotiation, the deal between the two parts will involve the liberation of approximately 2130 prisoners, including children and women, Syrian and some Turks, held by Syrian security services. 

A spokesman for the Syrian rebels confirmed on Wednesday that the hostages had been freed. However, until now, neither the Syrian government nor Iranian state TV have confirmed the news of their release.

The Turkish state news agency, Anadolu, assured that Qatar and Turkey, two strong critics of Assad’s government, were mediating the deal.

Syrian rebels claimed the hostages kidnapped were part of Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and were therefore, working on behalf of Assad’s government. However Iran, one of Assad’s main supporters, denied the accusations and insisted that the group Shi’ite pilgrims visiting a Shia shrine in the 

south of the capital, among them a number of retired members of the armed forces.