Nearly all of Egypt's daily papers on Wednesday run front-page headlines about investigations with Tarek Abdel Razek Hassan, an Egyptian arrested on charges of being an an Israeli spy. It was announced last week that Abdel Razek was arrested upon his return from China and accused of being a Mossad agent and seeking to recruit Egyptians, Lebanese and Syrians employed with telecommunication companies.
Abdel Razek is being investigated by state security prosecution and is due to stand trial before the Supreme State Security Court on 15 January, along with two Israelis who are to be tried in absentia. Yet are there other Israeli agents and spy-networks operating in Egypt?
State-owned Al-Ahram newspaper runs the headline: "Judicial source: Mossad did not recruit Egyptians other than Tarek Abdel Razek." A sub-headline discredits claims attributed to Abdel Razek regarding the presence of other Israeli operatives in Egypt: "'The professor' is an imaginary person invented by the defendant to justify his crime."
Similarly, in the liberal opposition Al-Wafd Newspaper runs a headline reading "Judicial sources: Investigations with defendant accused of espionage do not reveal any other networks."
Abdel Razek, a kung-fu instructor and importer-exporter of Chinese products, is being used as a scapegoat for Egypt's domestic woes, according to Israeli media. The independent Al-Dostour runs a headline citing a leading Israeli paper "Yedot Ahranot: Israeli spy-networks an Egyptian drama for distraction, drawing attention away from local crises."
In other news, Al-Ahram's largest headline reads "First heated confrontation between members of parliament and government." Sub-headlines refer to MP Zakaria Azmi, also the Chief of Presidential Staff: "Azmi refuses decision of Health Minister to transform public hospitals into private investment projects," and "LE 4.5 billion–the cost of increasing corruption in local councils."
In Al-Wafd, the top headline reads "Final report of election monitoring committee: Use of violence and thuggery…Screaming violations in polling stations and ballot boxes." A sub-header reads "Forgery of ballots, along with obstructing voters and monitors from reaching polling stations." This committee will monitor parliamentary election violations reported to the (state-appointed) National Council for Human Rights (NCHR), and issued its final report to the NCHR on Tuesday.
In the liberal independent Nahdet Masr Newspaper, an article pertaining to the efforts of former independent and opposition MPs–ousted in the last parliamentary elections–to establish their own parallel parliament, is published under the headline "Disagreements among members of parallel parliament regarding its name." A sub-header quotes ousted independent MP Mustafa Bakri as saying "We call for a popular parliament, and refuse parallel entities." Another ousted MP, Saad Aboud of the Nasserist Karama Party, is quoted in a sub-headline, "We will resort to the International Parliament to freeze Egypt's membership within it."
On a related note in Nahdet Masr, an interview with Safwat al-Sherif–the president of the Shura Council (upper consultative house of parliament), is published under the headline "National Democratic Party's parliamentary authority will confront the parallel parliament."
The independent Al-Shorouk announces: "New verdict annulling elections in circuit of Mo'mena Kamel." According to the article, an administrative court verdict issued on Tuesday called for the annulment of elections in the 6th of October electoral circuit–which was won by the ruling National Democratic Party's Mo'mena Kamel–due to the fact that opposition candidate Azza al-Garf was struck off the roster of candidates in that circuit during the parliamentary elections.
In Al-Dostour, the largest headline reads: "Day of anger and protests at the State Council Court." A sub-headline explains that numerous cases were being heard before this court on Tuesday–including a minimum wage case, a judicial appeal for the annulment of parliament, and a legal case for the defense of improved wages for the employees in the governmental Information Decision Support Centers. The sub-headline announces: "Former parliamentarians and Information Center employees protest during the hearing of their appeals–for the annulment of parliament, and for improved wages."
Egypt's papers:
Al-Ahram: Daily, state-run, largest distribution in Egypt
Al-Akhbar: Daily, state-run, second to Al-Ahram in institutional size
Al-Gomhorriya: Daily, state-run
Rose al-Youssef: Daily, state-run, close to the National Democratic Party's Policies Secretariat
Al-Dostour: Daily, privately owned
Al-Shorouk: Daily, privately owned
Al-Wafd: Daily, published by the liberal Wafd Party
Al-Arabi: Weekly, published by the Arab Nasserist party
Youm7: Weekly, privately owned
Sawt al-Umma: Weekly, privately owned
