Atlantic Council

Last month, I had my first opportunity as an Egyptian blogger to come face to face with US policymakers and officials in Washington DC. My meetings, arranged by The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, opened my eyes to certain realities and changed several of the preconceived perceptions I brought with me from Cairo to the center of US political power.

Amnesty International has criticized what it describes as the continuity of torture in Egypt and a failure to punish those responsible for abuses. In its annual Egypt report, the human rights group that said torture policies, discrimination and impunity from punishment persisted in Egypt in 2012. Meanwhile, Minister of Interior Mohamed Ibrahim honored 11,432 policemen nationwide for their efforts in capturing criminals. 

The short answer is no, but the Tamarod or ‘Rebel’ campaign can certainly create a massive headache for President Mohammed Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party, and the security apparatus. Tamarod campaigners have made an impressive splash on the Egyptian political scene in recent weeks, collecting signatures from ordinary citizens to demonstrate a vote of no-confidence against Morsi and demand early presidential elections under the supervision of the Supreme Constitutional Court. 

Over a period of 18 days, Egyptians of different ideologies and backgrounds united against former president Mubarak in a remarkable scene that likely won’t be witnessed again. A few weeks after Mubarak’s ouster, with SCAF assuming power, Egyptians started establishing political parties and groups, stimulated by their ideological differences.

A North Cairo criminal court on Wednesday acquitted seven Egyptian security personnel who had been accused of firing on unarmed anti-regime protesters during Egypt's January 2011 Tahrir Square uprising. Eyewitnesses testified to the prosecutor general that the defendants, who include four policemen and three mid-ranking officers, murdered one protester and attempted to murder 11 others.

President Mohamed Morsi began his four year term with seventeen political advisers and four aides. The seventeen advisers were described as being divided between seven ‘political liberals’ and ten advisers with ‘Islamist leanings.’ Among the seventeen advisers, two were women and two Christian.

Seven members of the Egyptian security forces kidnapped by Islamist militants in Sinai last week were freed on Wednesday and President Mohamed Morsi announced a new crackdown on lawlessness in the desert peninsula.

"We have the chance to show that America values the dignity of the street vendor in Tunisia more than the raw power of the dictator ... America must use all our influence to encourage reform in the region ... we need to speak honestly about the principles that we believe in, with friend and foe alike."

Which prominent American spoke these words?

Last October, in one of the most high profile cases involving protester deaths, the court acquitted all defendants accused of their involvement in the so-called “Battle of the Camels.” In the days that followed, the Muslim Brotherhood launched an attack on members of the judiciary associated with the former regime.

The Obama administration is calling on the Egyptian government to rein in prosecutions of political expression amid what it called a "growing trend" of efforts to punish and deter people from speaking their mind.

In an effort to improve government performance, President Mohammed Morsi introduced a limited cabinet reshuffle, in which a number of ministers from Hisham Qandil’s government were replaced. Most striking among the replacements was the appointment of Judge Hatem Bagato as Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, as well as the appointment of Judge Ahmed Suleiman as Minister of Justice.

Dozens of Egyptian military and police armored vehicles crossed into Sinai on Monday, beefing up the security presence in the volatile peninsula five days after suspected militants kidnapped six policemen and a border guard there. 

The Egyptian president, Mohamed Morsi, has already answered the question in the title by declaring that “Egypt will never go bankrupt”. But judging by some of the recent headlines, skeptics are still unconvinced. What does it mean for a country to go bankrupt anyway? And is Egypt really on the brink of financial collapse? 

Opposition and revolutionary groups are organizing only two marches this Friday, as some figures saying they are reserving their organizational strength for a million-man protest planned for the anniversary of President Mohamed Morsi’s inauguration on 30 June. The main focus of the marches, however, is raising awareness for the Tamarod campaign.