CAIRO: Former Lawyers’ Syndicate Chairman Sameh Ashour denied Wednesday that the Public Prosecutor has imposed a travel ban on him pending an investigation into alleged financial violations committed during his term. “This news is untrue. I have not been prevented from leaving Egypt. Neither was I subject to any investigation whatsoever,” Ashour told Daily News …

CAIRO: The Lawyers’ Syndicate will not escalate the issue after the verdict handed down by the appeals court against two lawyers in Tanta city, syndicate board member Mohamed Abdel-Ghaffar said Tuesday. “The only proper procedure to take in the coming phase is to contest the verdict through a memorandum that [a representative of the defense …

CAIRO: The Public Prosecutor referred Sunday prominent columnist and former TV show host Hamdy Qandil to the criminal court for the alleged defamation of a government employee, Minister of Foreign Affairs Ahmed Aboul Gheit. Qandil was interrogated by the prosecutor earlier in May for allegedly insulting and defaming Aboul Gheit in his column published in …

CAIRO: The Tanta Appeals Court commuted on Sunday the sentence handed down to two Tanta lawyers to two years and three months in prison. The lawyers were earlier handed down a five-year prison sentence for attacking the local prosecutor in Tanta city. Lawyers Ehab Saey El-Din and Moustafa Fatouh were handed the original sentence during …

CAIRO: A lawyer charged with attacking the local prosecutor in Tanta city has reportedly lost the ability to speak about three weeks ago while in custody ahead of his final re-trial hearing on Sunday. “The prison doctor examined my brother [Ehab Saey El Din] when he developed this state about three weeks ago and said …

CAIRO: The Sixth of October Appeals Court will announce on Sept. 22 the verdict in a case of alleged torture by three police officers. The case of Shady Maged Saad Zaghloul dates back to October 2007 when Zaghloul was arrested in Sixth of October City by a police officer who asked to check his driver’s …

CAIRO: Vice Chairman of the National Council for Human Rights (NCHR) said in recent press statements that the council rejected any international supervision over elections in Egypt. “Counselor Moqbel Shaker’s opinion may reflect the main trend of the [regime], the ruling party and the government. But it does not stand for the views of … …

CAIRO: The United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council has selected prominent activist Aida Seif El-Dawla among four nominees for the position of the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) said in a statement Sunday. Seif El-Dawla, also professor of psychiatry at Ain Shams University, came second among the top …

  CAIRO: A journalist filed a complaint to the Minister of Interior accusing a policeman in Qaliubiya governorate of allegedly having his mother placed in the morgue refrigerator following a road accident, the United Journalists Center (UJC) said in a statement Thursday. “A police captain working at Qaha village police station gave instructions to place …

CAIRO: Businessman and El-Wafd Party president El-Sayed El-Badawy has bought daily independent El-Dostor newspaper, editor-in-chief Ibrahim Eissa told Daily News Egypt Tuesday. Even though Eissa declined to mention the value of the deal, sources close to El-Dostor told Daily News Egypt that El-Badawy, also the owner of Al-Hayat satellite TV channels, paid publisher Essam Ismail …

CAIRO: Five ministers are expected to run in the People’s Assembly elections due to be held in November, the official Middle East News Agency (MENA) reported Sunday. This will be their first time as parliamentary candidates. Minister of Finance Youssef Botrous-Ghali, Minister of Social Solidarity Ali Moselhi and Minister of Military Production Sayed Mesh’al are …

CAIRO: The Public Prosecutor referred a physician to the criminal court in Menufiya governorate for the death of a 13-year-old girl during a circumcision procedure, press reports said Friday. Investigations indicated the child bled to death after undergoing the procedure, the reports added. The doctor was taken into custody pending trial. Minister of State for …

CAIRO: The Cairo Economic Court will on Tuesday look into a lawsuit filed by the son of Hassan El-Banna, founder of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB), against the scriptwriter of “Al-Gama’a” (The Group) TV series and its producer, the Egyptian Radio and Television Union (ERTU). Seif El-Islam Hassan El-Banna had demanded banning the show, which narrates …

CAIRO: The ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) will hold its annual conference ahead of the People’s Assembly (PA) elections, Abdel-Ahad Gamal Eddin, senior party member and head of the majority bloc at the PA, told Daily News Egypt. “At the conference, the NDP will likely put forward its political program [for the coming year] and …

CAIRO: While President Hosni Mubarak’s repeated public appearances attempted to counter rumors about a possible decline in his health, it also aimed to regain citizens’ trust in the government, observers say. Last weekend witnessed what analysts described as the “intensive presence of Mubarak” in the holy month of Ramadan. On Saturday, Mubarak inaugurated the new …

CAIRO: Public Prosecutor Abdel Meguid Mahmoud shelved Thursday a complaint submitted by 20 members of the Organization for Defending Police and Citizens against Al-Ghad party president Ayman Nour, accusing him of inciting the public “to hate” Gamal Mubarak. The organization members further accused Nour, also the opposition party’s founder, of defamation and attempting to deprive …

CAIRO: About 35 reporters at daily independent Nahdet Masr newspaper ended a three-day sit-in after a syndicate board member promised to intervene in their current crisis with the administration, journalist Radwan Adam told Daily News Egypt Thursday. The Nahdet Masr journalists started earlier this week a sit-in to protest alleged unpaid and low salaries. “The …

CAIRO: The architect of one of Egypt’s most notorious pyramid schemes was released from prison Tuesday after about 22 years spent behind bars. Businessman Ahmed Abdel-Fatah El-Gabry, known as Ahmed El-Rayan was convicted of fraud in 1989 for a scam involving billions of pounds in the 1980s. Depositors were tempted to invest in his company …

CAIRO: The recent news about a purchase deal of daily independent El-Dostor newspaper is nothing but a rumor, editor-in-chief Ibrahim Eissa told Daily News Egypt Tuesday. “There are no deals underway on selling El-Dostor whatsoever,” Eissa added. Eissa didn’t appear as a guest Monday on independent satellite On TV’s program Manshit as announced, which further …

CAIRO: An emergency general assembly meeting will be held Friday morning at the headquarters of Al-Ghad opposition party in downtown Cairo to elect a new president via secret ballot. Party founder Ayman Nour will compete with the party’s high committee member and assistant president Yasser Abdel-Hamid over the post. “We hope that the elections will …

CAIRO: Editor-in-Chief of Al-Shorouk El-Gadid Amr Khafagy denied Wednesday recent rumors that prominent novelist Alaa El-Aswany quit writing his weekly column in the independent daily after facing pressure by some officials. “We published a note in the newspaper saying that El-Aswany is on vacation; and he will resume writing when he comes back,” Khafagy told …

CAIRO: The state of Egyptian farmers has deteriorated significantly in 2010, according to a report released Tuesday by the Land Center for Human Rights. “The data and conclusions mentioned in the report have been reached through the farmers’ complaints to the center, field visits by the center lawyers and published news reports,” the center’s director, …

CAIRO: The recent relocation of local Tanta city prosecutor Basem Abu El-Rous to his hometown is an attempt to appease him, lawyer Sayed El-Fiki told Daily News Egypt Monday. Abu El-Rous is in the heart of a case that has led to a two-month stand-off between lawyers on the one hand and judges and prosecutors …

CAIRO: Al-Ghad opposition party will officially launch late on Sunday a campaign to counter another initiated earlier last week by “The Popular Coalition to Support Gamal Mubarak” for the presidency in the 2011 elections. “The campaign, whose activities started last week, is not against Gamal Mubarak as a person. Rather, it is against the idea …

CAIRO: A recent campaign promoting the nomination of Gamal Mubarak — son of incumbent President Hosni Mubarak — for the presidency in 2011 has drawn wide criticism among opposition groups. The campaign was launched earlier this week by a newly-formed group called “The Popular Coalition to Support Gamal Mubarak” led by Magdy El-Kurdy, ironically a …

CAIRO: The leftist Tagammu opposition party froze the membership of the coordinator of a group promoting the nomination of Gamal Mubarak — son of incumbent President Mubarak — for the presidency in 2011, party co-founder Fathia El-Assal told Daily News Egypt on Wednesday. “We decided to freeze Magdy El-Kurdi’s membership and [interrogate him] for adopting …

CAIRO: Egyptian journalists still encounter laws restricting their freedom of speech and expression, despite considerable progress in allowing a wider margin of freedom, said a recent report. On the other hand, imprisonment in publishing cases remains a deterrent due to unfulfilled promises to cancel this penalty, the report noted. At a press conference held Tuesday, …