2 - 8 August 2001
Issue No.545
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 2 - 8 August 2001 Issue No.545 |
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Cross-border shooting
ZAMEL Ahmed Soliman, a 28-year-old Egyptian, was sitting in the courtyard of his house in the Egyptian section of Rafah on Monday night when he was hit in the knee by a stray Israeli bullet fired on civilians in the Palestinian section of the border town, the Middle East News Agency (MENA) said.
Soliman was taken to Rafah Central Hospital, where a bullet was removed from his knee. MENA quoted hospital officials as saying that his condition was stable.
In a further incident on Tuesday, Tarek Abdel- Gaber, a Egyptian Television correspondent in Israel, was beaten by an Israeli reserve officer near Qalandia on the West Bank. An Israeli army spokesman expressed his apologies. A government spokesman said the offending officer would be questioned.
Sequestration bid rejected
THE SUPREME Court of Ethics has turned down a request by the Socialist Prosecutor-General (SPG) to impose sequestration on the assets and bank deposits of two business magnates, Mahmoud Azzam and his wife, Aleya El-Ayyouti. The court, after reviewing a report by a special auditing expert, decided that Azzam and El-Ayyouti had not committed financial irregularities to obtain LE100 million in credit facilities and loans from the family-owned Nile Bank.
The expert's report attributed the failure of Azzam in 1995 to pay back part of his loans to personal differences with the bank's chairman, Eissa El- Ayyouti. The report said Azzam's transactions with the Nile Bank amounted to LE1 billion over the period from 1978 to 1995. "Throughout this period, Azzam has been able to settle most of his loans and, in return, the Nile Bank gained interest revenue valued at LE140 million. Azzam also provided the bank with LE40 million in real collateral to obtain loans," the report said.
Azzam's wife, Aleya El-Ayyouti, was vice- president of the Nile Bank. The SPG's report claimed that Azzam took advantage of his wife's position to obtain the LE100 million in loans without enough collateral.
Intentions ignored
PROSECUTOR-General Maher Abdel-Wahid has ordered the release of all those convicted on the basis of Article 48 of the Penal Code, which was declared unconstitutional last month, reports Rana Allam. He also instructed prosecutors to shelve all pending cases based on that article. The Supreme Constitutional Court ruled that Article 48, under which a prison sentence of three to 15 years could be imposed on anyone involved in complicity with others to commit a felony, was unconstitutional. Complicity for a misdemeanour was punishable by up to three years.
Abdel-Wahid declined the option of requesting the court to re-examine the ruling. The decision covered all complicity cases, including state security cases.
"The Constitutional Court's ruling applies to all cases. Article 48 is now non-existent," said Mohamed El-Guindi, chairman of the Permanent Penal Legislation Committee at the Ministry of Justice.
However, state security cases are rarely based on Article 48 alone. "This ruling will have no important implications for these cases," Adel El-Said, an aide to the Prosecutor-General, said.
Safety before discovery
EXCAVATIONS on the bed of the Red Sea opposite El-Qusseir to recover the wreck of a commercial cargo ship which sank almost 2,000 years ago have been postponed until security clearances are obtained and safety concerns allayed, reports Nevine El-Aref.
An American archaeological team has pinpointed the location of a well-preserved shipwreck dating back to the Roman era opposite El-Qusseir, an important port in ancient times.
"It is too dangerous to take this wreck out of the sea-bed," said Ibrahim Darwish, head of the underwater archaeology department. He pointed out that the wreck was located "at a depth ranging from 65 to 70 metres, a matter which would threaten the lives of any divers."
Gaballa Ali Gaballa, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, said every precaution would be taken to ensure the team's safety.
Guilty or not?
A COURT ruling is expected next week in the Arkadia murder trial. On trial is Omar El-Hawari, who is accused of killing Mahmoud Rawhi on 12 April at the Pomodoro Restaurant in Arkadia Mall.
The trial, the second series of hearings on the case, began on 23 June. El-Hawari's defence team contested the competence of the first court and, in effect, demanded a retrial before another circuit of the Criminal Court. Although the Cairo Court of Appeal threw out the defence request, the then presiding judge Galal Ibrahim "excused" himself from hearing the case.
Last week, the court heard the testimony of several witnesses. Some said they saw El-Hawari stab Rawhi, while others testified that Mustafa Naguib, Rawhi's executive secretary, hit Rawhi by mistake as he attempted to stab El-Hawari during a quarrel. Saba Mahmoud Ouda, who is in Dubai, changed her testimony through her lawyer. She said she was not at the Pomodoro on the night of the murder and that her first testimony was dictated by El-Hawari's fiancée and his brother.
The prosecutor and the civil claimants were demanding a death sentence for El-Hawari, whose defence team failed to show up for yesterday's session. Hearings will reconvene on Monday.
Compiled by Shaden Shehab
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