29 Nov. - 5 Dec. 2001
Issue No.562
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 29 Nov. - 5 Dec. 2001 Issue No.562 |
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Information need
AUTHORITIES are stepping up their efforts to gather information about Egyptians who were detained in the United States following the 11 September attacks, reports Soha Abdelaty. Mohamed Abbas, assistant to the foreign minister for the affairs of expatriate Egyptians, called a meeting with US ambassador David Welch at the foreign ministry to inform him that representatives of the Egyptian embassy in Washington need to visit Egyptians detained in American prisons, a right granted to all countries under international law.
"We intend to look into this matter because we understand our responsibilities and we take them very seriously," Welch told reporters after meeting with Abbas. The exact number of those detained has not been released. "There are many cases and we've asked for some further information from the government of Egypt with respect to those cases," Welch told reporters on Monday. "The State Department does not even know whom the Egyptian government has been trying to visit. We need to have this list so that we can then examine which authorities have them and see what can be done," added Welch.
The ambassador denied knowledge of reports that officials of the Egyptian embassy in Washington had been denied access to the Egyptian detainees. Under the Vienna Convention, to which both the US and Egypt are signatory, when a country detains a non- citizen, local authorities are required to notify the individual's country of origin and to allow the representatives of that country access to their national.
Ex-monk not on trial
JUDICIAL sources denied on Saturday a report by the Middle East News Agency (MENA) a day earlier that the trial of a defrocked monk by a criminal court on charges of depravity was scheduled to begin imminently.
Defrocked monk Adel Saadallah Gabriel, who assumed the clerical name of Barsoum Al-Muharraqqi at the Al-Muharraq Monastery in Assiut, was arrested in June on charges of deviant behaviour and blackmail. He is detained under the Emergency Law, in force since 1981, which gives police sweeping powers to detain people without trying them. Continuing to hold Gabriel requires that the state renew his detention order every 30 days.
The Coptic Orthodox Church said in June that Gabriel had been defrocked and excommunicated for deviant behaviour five years ago. The drama unfolded when Al-Nabaa, an independent newspaper, published stills from videos that the former monk had recorded of himself engaged in sexual acts with a woman, allegedly for the purpose of blackmailing her. Mamdouh Mahran, the newspaper's chief editor, who is serving a three-year prison sentence for publishing the photos and an accompanying article, alleged that at the time the videos were made the monk was still serving the church. Mahran also claimed that Gabriel's activities took place inside the Al- Muharraq monastery, a claim vehemently denied by the Coptic Church.
MENA reported that the prosecutor charged the monk with "practicing depravity in a place of worship, disturbing public order, undermining social peace and national unity and inciting sectarian strife."
Journalists convicted
A MISDEMEANOURS Court on Sunday sentenced Waguih Ghazi, chief editor of the weekly independent newspaper Al-Muwagaha, and Hossam Wahballah, a journalist with the same publication, to two years imprisonment with hard labour for publishing obscene photographs. However, their sentences were suspended against the payment of LE100 bail each. The sentence can be appealed.
The court said that "the published material contains obscenities and is a gross violation of morals and ethics upheld by the constitution."
The Supreme Press Council had filed a complaint with prosecutors against the two journalists following the publication in June of photos showing men and women in "compromising positions" that were judged "offensive to readers."
Invest in a phone call
BUSINESSMEN and women concerned about investing in Egypt in the current international, political and economic climate can put their questions to a panel of experts on Cairo Radio's European Service. The guest panel, which will be led by Michael Cutler-Hodgson, managing director of the Misr European Development Group, will handle questions on development and investment trends to help circumvent misconceptions and misunderstandings for foreigners planning to invest in, or move to, Egypt.
The programme will be aired tonight [29 November] at 11.05 pm. The phone-in numbers are: 578 9407 (direct line) or 5757155- 5787129 (through the operator -- ask for Studio Three, European local service).
Compiled by Shaden Shehab
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