Al-Ahram Weekly | Egypt

		Al-Ahram Weekly Online 15 - 21 November 2001 Issue No.560
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875		Current issue \| Previous issue \| Site map

Lakah's last chance
THE PEOPLE'S Assembly's Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee decided on Sunday to postpone a decision to drop the parliamentary membership of independent MP and businessman Rami Lakah. In compliance with a 27 August ruling by the Supreme Administrative Court that Lakah forfeit his parliamentary seat because he has dual nationality, the committee is expected to take the decision at a second meeting today.
The committee's chairman, Mohamed Moussa, said Lakah has to be present to defend himself. "This is the last chance for Lakah. He has to attend our meeting on Thursday to defend himself. If he fails to show up, we will not hesitate to drop his parliamentary membership," Moussa said.
The committee will later prepare a report on Lakah's parliamentary status and present it to the Assembly. In a plenary session, the Assembly will take the final decision on whether Lakah's membership be dropped.
Awad El-Morr, former chairman of the Supreme Constitutional Court (SCC), attended the committee meeting as Lakah's lawyer. He asked the committee not to take a decision on the grounds that Lakah had filed a final appeal with the SCC.
The final homecoming

AFTER more than two years, the remains of 18 Egyptian victims of EgyptAir flight 990 were returned to Cairo on Sunday. The airliner was flying from New York to Cairo when it crashed into the Atlantic Ocean on 31 October 1999. American authorities used DNA tests to identify the remains, which explains the delay in their return.
The remains include those of the pilot, but not of co-pilot Gamal El-Batouti.
In December 2000, the remains of 33 victims, including 20 Egyptian military officers, were returned to Cairo.
Meanwhile, an Egyptian delegation arrived back in Cairo on Saturday following talks with American investigators on the reasons for the crash. No details of the visit were divulged.
In a preliminary report released in April, the National Transportation Safety Board did not reveal the conclusions it may have reached on why the plane went down. But US officials said no evidence was found to indicate that a mechanical problem caused the crash, as Egypt maintains.
Earlier, US officials had suggested that co-pilot El- Batouti deliberately brought the plane down in a double murder-suicide, a scenario that Egypt vehemently rejects.
Divorce rights for all

ACTRESS Hala Sidki has filed a khul' lawsuit with a Cairo court against her husband, becoming the first Christian woman to take this type of legal action. Under Islamic Shari'a, khul' is a litigation process initiated by a woman seeking divorce on condition that she forfeits all her financial rights, including alimony.
Sidki was married to Magdi William in 1993 but the marriage was short-lived and the couple separated shortly afterwards. The two became engaged in several legal battles, trading accusations and counter- accusations. Yet, Sidki could not obtain a divorce.
Sidki and her husband are both Christians but belong to different sects. In situations like this, either party has the right to ask for the application of Shari'a.
The first court hearing will take place on 22 December.
Domestics in plight

PROSECUTORS on 8 November ordered that actress Wafaa Mekki be remanded in custody for 15 days pending an investigation of accusations that she tortured her teenage maid, causing her severe burns and bruises. Prosecutors also cancelled a scheduled confrontation between the actress and the maid and decided instead to confront each of them with the testimony of the other.
Mekki denied the accusations, claiming that the girl's family caused the injuries, but the maid insisted they were the work of Mekki. A doctor who was summoned by Mekki to provide the maid with medical treatment before she was driven by Mekki's associates and dumped in her hometown testified that the maid did not ask for his help nor did she accuse Mekki of causing the injuries.
While the investigations are ongoing, the Egyptian Organisation of Human Rights (EOHR) addressed the issue of young house workers in a press release. The EOHR expressed its deep sadness and concern that Egyptian law does not provide the necessary legal protection for domestic helpers, the statement said. It added that domestic helpers, employed by many middle class and wealthy families, have no specific work hours or holidays and are often under- aged.

Recommend this page

© Copyright Al-Ahram Weekly. All rights reserved

Send a letter to the Editor

ARCHIVES
Letter from the Editor
Editorial Board
Subscription
Advertise!

WEEKLY ONLINE: www.ahram.org.eg/weekly
Updated every Saturday at 11.00 GMT, 2pm local time
weeklyweb@ahram.org.eg

Al-Ahram Organisation