Egypt Watch

Central Bank of Egypt to raise overnight interest rates

On Monday, a Reuters poll showed that the Central Bank of Egypt is expected to raise overnight interest rates by 200 basis points, or 2 per cent. The bank will likely raise the interest rate on deposits to 18.25% and…

UN Human Rights Committee concerned about arbitrary detention in Egypt

On Monday, the United Nations Human Rights Committee expressed concern about reports of arbitrary detention and systematic unfair use of pretrial detention in Egypt. The committee urged Egypt to respect essential procedural safeguards against arbitrary deprivation of liberty, comply with…

Morgan Stanley says the Egyptian government should expedite the process of selling state-owned companies and assets

On Tuesday, Morgan Stanley issued a note in which its analysts said that the solution to Egypt’s foreign exchange crisis and the funding gap is to expand the government’s privatization program. Bank analysts estimated the country’s funding gap this year…

Amnesty International says the Egyptian government continues to repress freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly

On Monday, Amnesty International published its annual report on the human rights situation in the world, including in Egypt, in which it confirmed the Egyptian government’s continued repression of freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly. The rights group noted…

Egyptian court rejects lawsuit filed by Al-Warraq Island residents

On Monday, an Egyptian court rejected a lawsuit filed by the residents of Al-Warraq Island, which demanded that the government be prevented from expropriating land and buildings belonging to them. According to the residents’ lawyer, Ghanem Salih, the Egyptian government…

Egypt receives $335.5 million from Japan

On Tuesday, the Egyptian Ministry of Finance issued a statement saying it had signed a financing agreement with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for 44 billion Japanese yen ($335.5 million). According to the statement, the agreement supported Egypt’s efforts…

Egypt continues to force evictions of residents of unplanned areas

On Tuesday, twenty people were arrested in Egypt because they resisted the police forces and assaulted their members. Lawyer Saleh Mohamed said that the clashes with the police resulted from the government’s desire to evict residents from their homes in…

Wheat prices increase in Egypt due to import difficulties

On Monday, a member of the Grain Division of the Federation of Industries, Walid Diab, said that the price of a ton of wheat rose by 2,500 Egyptian pounds during the past two weeks to reach 14,500 Egyptian pounds. Diab…

AFTE reports abuses of free speech during the 2022 Cairo International Book Fair

On Tuesday, the Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression released a report on the 2022 Cairo International Book Fair. It said it documented free speech abuses, including preventing publishing houses from participating in the fair and confiscating displayed books….

Rights groups express concern about flagrant human rights violations at Badr Prison

On Monday, local and international human rights groups expressed concern about the flagrant human rights violations at Badr Prison in Egypt, explaining that recent news of repeated suicide attempts by prisoners compounds their problems. They called on the international community,…