Sisi rejects Bashir accusations

Cairo puts lawyer on trial

CAIRO, May 25, (RTRS): Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi rejected on Wednesday his Sudanese counterpart’s accusation that Cairo backs rebels aiming to topple the government in Khartoum, saying Egypt does not conspire against anyone.

Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir accused Egypt on Tuesday of supporting rebels at war with his government, a week ahead of a visit to Cairo by Sudan’s foreign minister that is meant to ease tensions between the neighbouring states.

“Egyptian policy is constant, unchanging, and will not change; we do not interfere in the affairs of others,” Sisi told a news conference held following a meeting with Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern in Cairo.

“The other point I must stress is that Egypt does not conspire,” he said, answering a reporter’s question.

Conspire

“Would I conspire and let elements attack our brothers in Sudan? We practice honourable politics at a time when honour is rare.”

Egypt and Sudan have been at odds in recent months on issues ranging from disputed land in southern Egypt to trade restrictions and burdensome visa requirements that have threatened bilateral commercial relations.

Bashir, who is wanted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court, has been at war with various rebel factions in three southern regions of Sudan for years.

In a speech to Sudanese military personnel, he said on Tuesday that the military had seized Egyptian armoured vehicles from rebels in the country’s war-torn southern Darfur region. Egypt’s foreign ministry denied supporting the rebels.

Sudan demands Egypt hand over the disputed Halayeb? Triangle border area, but Cairo says it is Egyptian.

Egypt rejected last year a request from Khartoum to enter negotiations to determine sovereignty over the triangle or to seek international arbitration.

Sudanese Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour is expected in Cairo on May 31 to discuss, among other issues, a simmering trade dispute that has blocked Egyptian agricultural imports.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry was in Khartoum last month at the head of a delegation that took part in a bilateral political consultation committee meeting.

An Egyptian human rights lawyer and would-be presidential election candidate is to stand trial next week charged with offending public decency, his lawyer said on Wednesday.

Khaled Ali, 45, was detained on Tuesday in what rights group Amnesty International said was part of a campaign of intimidation aimed at discouraging participation in the election, due to take place next summer.

A prosecutor on Wednesday released Ali on bail and set his trial for May 29, Ali’s lawyer Malek Adly said.

The charge he faces relates to a photograph in which he appears to make a rude hand gesture on the steps of a Cairo court house, according to Adly. Ali denies the authenticity of the photo.

“This is all connected to his human rights and political work,” said Adly, a member of Ali’s leftwing Bread and

Appears

Freedom Party. “We are being punished for practising clean politics, and yes, we intend to run, which is why we are facing this campaign.”

If convicted, Ali could face up to two years in prison, a fine of up to 5-10,000 Egyptian pounds ($250-550), or both. He would also be barred from running for the presidency.

Since toppling Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood in 2013, President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has overseen a crackdown against Islamists and secular opponents in which hundreds have been killed and thousands jailed.

Sisi, 62, says he is a bulwark of stability in a region that has slipped into chaos since the 2011 Arab Spring revolts, prioritising security over civil rights.

He is widely expected to stand for re-election next summer.

Dozens of lawyers gathered at the courthouse where Ali was being questioned on Wednesday in a show of solidarity.

The Bread and Freedom Party’s legal adviser has said that eight of its members have been detained since April on charges including “misusing social media to incite against the state” and “insulting the president”.

Ali’s defence team paid bail worth 1,000 pounds ($55) after his release was ordered, his lawyer said.

Amnesty International said detention and referral to trial were part of a crackdown on opposition activists ahead of the election.

Potential

“The Egyptian authorities seem intent on pre-emptively crushing any potential rivals to maintain their grip on power,” Najia Bounaim, Amnesty International’s campaigns director for North Africa, said in a statement.