Egypt : More policewomen to combat sexual harassment in Eid

Women are urged to report sexual harassers to police during the Eid festival

An Egyptian policewoman in the Metro

Minister of Interior Magdy Abdel-Ghafar has ordered policewomen to increase their public presence during Eid Al-Fitr celebrations to combat sexual harassment, Police General Abu Bakr Abdel-Karim, the minister's aide for public relations and media, has said.

Abu Bakr urged women to report sexual harassers to police, during a phone interview with Al-Mehawar TV channel on Thursday.

A growing problem in Egypt in the past 10 years, sexual harassment increases during the Eid season. 

Eid Al-Fitr will start in Egypt on Friday and will continue for another two days.

An Anti-Harassment law was adopted in 2014. It imposes jail terms of no less than six months and/or fines of LE3,000 to LE5,000 ($419 to 700) on those who are found guilty of sexual harassment in public or private areas. Harassment is defined as gestures or words or any modern means of communication, or any other action that carries sexual or pornographic hints.

Out of hundreds of women surveyed, more than 99 percent across seven of the country's 27 governorates reported experiencing some form of sexual harassment, ranging from minor harassment to rape, according to an April 2013 report by the United Nations along with Egypt's Demographic Centre and the National Planning Institute.

Jordanian interior ministry : ISIS killers of pilot opened "gates of hell" on themselves

The ministry stresses Amman's execution of jihadists on Wednesday sends a message to IS; spokesperson says Jordan will bury the dead without maiming according to its moral standards

Supporters and family members of Jordanian pilot, Lt. Muath al-Kaseasbeh express their anger of his reported killing, at the tribal gathering chamber, Amman, Jordan, Tuesday, 3, 2015

The Jordanian ministry of interior has issued a statement following the execution of Iraqi female suicide bomber Sajida Al-Rishawi and Iraqi Al-Qaeda member Ziad Al-Karboli at dawn on Wednesday in response to the murder of a Jordanian pilot by Islamic State militants.

The statement said that the execution was carried out based on a judgement issued by state security court on 21 September 2006.

Meanwhile, Ziad Alzoubi, the spokesperson of the ministry said that the Islamic State has opened "the gates of hell on themselves by committing its inhumane crime."

He added that the executions are meant to send a message and not simply response to the Jihadist group.

Alzoubi warned that Muath's blood will be a curse haunting IS even in the afterlife, As reported .

"The bodies will be buried and will not be maimed nor burned because this is the kind of morals Jordan has" Alzoubi stated.

The executions were carried out in response to an Islamic State video released late Tuesday showing a captured Jordanian pilot Muath Al-Kassasbeh being burnt alive.

The gruesome video which has sparked global revulsion and vows of combating the jihadist group was the latest in a series of gruesome recorded killings of hostages by IS, AFP reported.

Al-Rishawi was convicted of being involved in conspiracies to carry out terrorist attacks, such as Amman hotel bombings in 2005 that lead to the death of 56. The court of cassation has supported this provision.

IS had offered to spare Al-Kassasbeh's life and free the Japanese hostage Kenji Goto – who was later beheaded – if she were released, as reported.

Following her arrest in 2005, Al-Rishawi confessed that she had taken part in the terror attacks, however she said that her husband was the one who organised everything, CNN reported.

Karboli was sentenced to death in 2007 on terrorism charges, including the killing of a Jordanian in Iraq. The Jordanian court of cassation has also supported this provision.

It was stated that both Rishawi and Karaboli were affiliated with one of the extreme terrorist organisations.

In Video : (Graphic Warning +18 Adults Only) Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis Terrorists abduct and kill Egyptian Policeman

Terrorists Release Video Showing ‘Execution’ Of Egyptian Policeman



Egypt’s deadliest militant group Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis released on Sunday a video showing the abduction and killing of a police officer earlier in Sinai.

The militant group released a video on a twitter account believed to belong to it where it shows gunmen capturing and killing a man who identified himself as police officer Ayman al-Desouki.
 

 
Desouki said in the video that it was Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis who abducted him. In the video, Desouki is apparently hardly forced to list “abuses” by the Ministry of Interior against prisoners.



Desouki being kidnapped at a ‘militant checkpoint’

Unidentified gunmen kidnapped Desouki on January 11; he worked at the Rafah border-crossing. Desouki’s body was found by the armed forces in North Sinai two days later, with two gunshots to the head.

Armed forces spokesman Mohamed Samir accused “terrorist elements” of killing the officer, in a statement announcing Desouki’s death, released on January 13.

The Sinai-based Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, which changed its name to Sinai Province since pledging allegiance to the leader of the Islamic State fighters in Iraq and Syria in November 2014, has claimed responsibility for several militant attacks committed since the ouster of Islamist President Mohamed Mursi.



The group claimed responsibility for an attack on a security checkpoint in Sinai in October 2014 which rendered over 30 security personnel killed.

Militants in North Sinai have recently engaged in the kidnap and execution of Sinai residents whom they accuse of cooperation with security apparatuses.

#Egypt's #MOI preparing list of wrongly arrested youth to be released: #Sisi

The ministry of interior will also include those who were detained over minor charges



President Abdel-Fattah El-Sissi gives a speech at the Presidential Palace in Cairo, Egypt, Sunday, June 8, 2014

The Egyptian interior ministry is preparing a list of young detainees who were wrongly arrested or have been detained over minor charges, to be released before the fourth anniversary of the 25 January uprising, President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi said on Monday.

Speaking during his visit to the UAE, the president said the list include all cases presented by the media as well as Egyptian organizations.

The list is currently being revised by the responsible entities, the president added.

Two of the detainees being considered for are young men serving three-year sentences for attempting to overthrow former president Mohamed Morsi, he said, without giving further details. .

Morsi was ousted in July 2013 after mass protests against his rule.

In a meeting with political parties last week, El-Sisi had asked party representatives to make a list of arrested youth who were unjustly arrested.

Since November 2013, hundreds of Islamists and liberals, including many students, have been arrested for violating a controversial law which mandates protestors to notify authorities at least three days ahead of protests.

The law stipulates heavy fines and prison sentences to its violators.

El-Sisi stated that the country is not "targeting" young people.

"On the contrary, I don't hesitate to select youth for (official) positions, as I've found them more daring, enthusiastic and able to work," he told journalists.

Security approval required for Egyptian travellers to Turkey and Iraq: MOI

Egyptian travellers aged 18 to 40 will be subject to the provision at a time the interior ministry calls 'exceptional' for the region

 

Ministry of interior stipulates security approval from pass control for travelers to Turkey and Iraq

Egyptians wishing to travel to Turkey or Iraq are now required to get security approval from passport control authorities.

General Aiman Hamed, chief of the media bureau for the interior ministry told that the decision came earlier this week during “exceptional timing" for the region.

Hamed mentioned that the decision only affects travelers between 18 and 40 years of age.

The new decision does not affect Libya, which has only recently stipulated that Egyptians acquire a visa to cross the border after decades of unrestricted border movement.

Turkey is currently the easiest border to cross into northern Syria through the crossings of Gaziantep and Bab Al-Hawa. Cities in northern Syria, particularly Raqqah and large parts of Aleppo have fallen under the control of the Islamic State organisation, escalating instability in the restless country.

IS has took over Mosul city in Iraq last June without a significant resistance from Iraqi forces. Battles are also ongoing in Iraq, especially around Beiji oil refinery in Saladin province and in Anbar.

Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis, a jihadist group operating in Egypt’s North Sinai governorate pledged loyalty to IS in early November shortly after a major militant attack in the Sheikh Zuweid border city that left more than 30 army personnel dead and dozens injured.

The Egyptian extremist group has claimed dozens of militant operations against the Egyptian police and army that have killed dozens of security personnel throughout the past year.

The recent decision by the interior minister coincides with a broad campaign launched by the armed forces that aims to "purge North Sinai of terrorist elements.” The campaign includes a two-phased plan to create a buffer zone along 1,500 metres on the border with the Gaza Strip; the first phase resulted in the evacuation of tens of families and the destruction of hundreds of houses in the border city of Rafah.