You didn't seem to like the last one, and if at first you don't succeed....
"The decision was part of a reconciliation meeting between Qatar and Egypt brokered by Saudi Arabia."
"Egypt sentences 183 to death over assault on police station" Associated Press February 03, 2015
CAIRO — The verdict was the latest in a string of mass death sentences that have sparked local and international condemnation.
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In a separate development Monday, the Egyptian president has spoken publicly for the first time about the recent shooting death of a female protester, calling her a “martyr” and offering condolences to her family and all Egyptians “pained” by her death, newspapers reported Monday.
President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi’s comments reflected a nod to activists enraged by a killing they see as a cold-blooded murder of a colleague and the latest example of the use of excessive force by police at a time when Sissi’s government is accused of suppressing freedoms and trampling on human rights.
Shaimaa el-Sabbagh, a 32-year-old mother and activist, was killed while taking part in a peaceful protest Jan. 24 in Cairo.
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"Egyptian court sentences 230 to life for role in clashes; Mass judgment levied for 2011 protests in Cairo" by Maggie Michael, Associated Press February 05, 2015
CAIRO — All were tried in absentia....
The ruling, which can be appealed, is the heaviest sentence yet against the secular activists who spearheaded the mass protests four years ago that forced longtime autocratic president Hosni Mubarak to step down.
Those are the good guys, i.e. AmeriKan tools.
In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the United States was ‘‘deeply troubled’’ by the mass life sentences, adding that they ‘‘run counter to the most basic democratic principles and due process under the law.’’
Maybe she has not seen the Senate torture report or been to Gitmo or some of the other sites. Maybe begging for mercy will get you off death row.
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After hearing the verdict in the Cairo court, Douma clapped his hands in mock applause, bringing an angry riposte from Judge Mohammed Nagi Shehata.
‘‘Are we in Tahrir Square here or what? You are clapping to me? Show respect in the session. . . . Don’t say anything else or I’ll give you three more years,’’ Shehata said....
The judge has courted controversy in the past by sentencing three Al-Jazeera journalists to at least seven years in prison last year and issuing a mass death sentence Monday in connection to the killing of more than a dozen policemen in 2013.
‘‘The harshness of the verdict is not a surprise to us, as the judge is driven by personal and political motives that shed light on the degree of impartiality of the Egyptian judiciary,’’ said Douma’s lawyer, Mohammed Abdel-Aziz. ‘‘All talk about the independence of the judiciary is baseless.’’
Abdel-Aziz and the rest of Douma’s defense team boycotted sessions after accusing Shehata of ‘‘terrorizing’’ them and not responding to any of their demands.
The case is connected to Cairo clashes in December 2011, during which a fire gutted parts of a library housing rare manuscripts and books.
Douma and the others were fined a total of $2.2 million over buildings that were damaged during the protests, including parliament and other government buildings.
The nearly weeklong clashes that left some 40 people dead erupted after young activists took to the streets to protest the post-Mubarak political transition overseen by the military.
The violence also laid bare the deep divisions between secular and Islamist activists, who had briefly united to topple Mubarak.
And who benefited?
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At least one of the good guys got out:
"Popular Egyptian satirist takes Harvard fellowship" AP February 04, 2015
CAIRO — Egypt’s most popular satirist, Bassem Youssef, has joined Harvard’s Institute of Politics at the John F. Kennedy School of Government as a resident fellow for the spring semester, almost a year after his program was taken off the air for lambasting Egyptian presidents and military leaders.
Youssef said in a tweet that he was proud to join the school for the semester. The surgeon-turned-satirist has been largely out of public view since his landmark program was pulled off the air in April 2014 ahead of Egypt’s presidential elections, which former military chief Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi won by a landslide.
The end of Youssef’s show reflected the growing intolerance for criticism of authorities and the shrinking space for freedom of expression since 2013. It was part of a crackdown on dissent that has landed government critics behind bars and silenced many dissenting voices. Authorities contend they are fighting a wave of Islamic militancy that aims to destabilize the country.
Youssef took the country by storm when he started uploading satirical news broadcasts to YouTube during the 2011 uprising that forced out longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak.
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Related(?): 25 dead after riot breaks out at Egyptian soccer game
"Egypt calls for inquiry in soccer deaths" by David D. Kirkpatrick, New York Times February 10, 2015
CAIRO — President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi on Monday called for an investigation into a confrontation with riot police officers that killed at least 25 people at the gates of a soccer stadium here, as prosecutors ordered the arrest of the leaders of a fan group.
The government ordered the league to suspend play indefinitely. The violence began Sunday night, when thousands of fans of the Cairo soccer team Zamalek were packed into a narrow, caged-in corridor as they tried to enter the stadium.
I only have one word for you: Hillsborough
The police blamed a stampede for the deaths, but several fans said that the police had set it off by firing tear gas into the throng and birdshot at the fleeing crowds.
Photographs and videos that were circulated on the Internet appeared to confirm the use of gas and birdshot by a squadron of heavily armed riot police officers, as well as the burning of at least two cars near the stadium by fans.
One photograph appeared to show the body of a child who had been trampled to death at the stadium gates while still clutching a bag of snacks.
Most of those killed were men ages 17 to 22, according to a roster posted on the Facebook page of a fan group known as the Ultras White Knights.
It was the worst episode of soccer-related violence in Egypt since a brawl between fan groups at a match in Port Said killed more than 70 people three years ago.
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Within a few hours of the first casualties, the general prosecutor, Hisham Barakat, ordered the arrest of White Knights leaders and charged them with responsibility for the deaths, the flagship state newspaper Al Ahram reported.
Sissi, in a statement Monday, appeared to neither blame nor absolve the police of misconduct.
Expressing “great sadness,” Sissi called for “the investigating authorities to uncover the root causes of the incident and determine those responsible.”
He asked that “all necessary measures be taken to prevent a recurrence of the incident.”
There was no indication whether Sissi intended to redirect the general prosecutor from his initial focus on the fans’ culpability.
Human rights advocates say that the police are rarely held accountable for civilian deaths in Egypt.
Hands Up! Don't Shoot!
Progovernment media and the Interior Ministry, which is in charge of the police, sought to deflect blame from the security forces Monday.
One TV commentator, Ahmed Moussa, called the victims ‘‘thugs’’ who were breaking the law, the Associated Press reported. Others on TV talk shows accused the government’s top rival, the Muslim Brotherhood, of causing the violence.
The president of the Zamalek team, Mortada Mansour, echoed that idea, telling one private TV station that the violence was ‘‘orchestrated’’ to taint upcoming parliamentary elections.
‘‘There are people who don’t want a state or nation,’’ he said, according to the Associated Press.
Mansour is a staunch supporter of Sissi, the former army chief who has waged a sweeping crackdown on dissent since he led the 2013 overthrow of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, Egypt’s first freely elected leader.
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Related:
Egyptian court releases two Al-Jazeera journalists
New trial starts for Egypt’s Morsi
I guess I'm done kicking around this post.
UPDATES:
Mubarak official cleared of charges by Egypt court
Egypt detains 2 police officers over lawyer's death
"Satellite news network Al-Jazeera is based in Qatar, which was the main backer of ousted Islamist President Mohammed Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood."
Just thought you would like to know.
Cairo court upholds Mubarak’s conviction
No word about Morsi in months.
