A meeting was announced on Friday 13 November, “sponsored by Engineer Ibrahim al-Organi, head of the Union of Egyptian Tribes and Families”, based on “directives” from President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, to regulate artisanal gold mining in the south, attended by MPs, senators, tribal representatives from Aswan, Halayeb, Shalateen and Marsa Alam, “representatives of the security agencies” and the Mostaqbal Misr Agency for Sustainable Development, which discussed “releasing those detained in mining cases”. Senator and the union’s organisation secretary Fayez Abu Harb said there were understandings to release the detainees “except those proven to be involved in crimes of murder or drugs”, and to set up a company “under the umbrella of Mostaqbal Misr” that “will assign mining work to workers and organise licensing procedures”, while MP Mona Shaker said contracts will be made “through a direct-award mechanism”, and that the executive details have not yet been settled.
Zawia3 found no statement from the presidency or the military spokesman on the “directives”, and the company’s name, capital and ownership structure were not announced, according to published reports, although Law No. 147 of 2026 gives the agency the power to found companies and issue mining licences within “sustainable development zones”. Neither the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources nor the Public Prosecution appeared as a party to the announcement. Article 32 of the constitution provides that rights to exploit natural resources are granted “by law”, with special provisions for small mines. Abdallah al-Maghazi, a professor of constitutional law and former MP, said “settling criminal cases cannot be done by mere understandings or agreements”, and that it falls within the jurisdiction of the Public Prosecution and the judiciary.
This comes a week after the military spokesman, Col. Ahmed Otman, announced that the campaign against illegal mining had led to the detention of 151 Egyptians and 540 foreigners and the deaths of two officers, and that “the armed forces did not target civilians”, before its fourth phase began on 7 November. None of the speakers gave the number of detainees covered by the move to release them, or the fate of the foreigners. The file adds to other roles of the Mostaqbal Misr agency: the Supply Ministry works to ensure a strategic reserve of basic goods of at least six months “in coordination with the Mostaqbal Misr agency”, according to a report published on 4 November.
Adel Shakl: no official account of his status since his detention was renewed in July
Adel Shakl, the leading fan of Al-Ittihad Alexandria club, was arrested in Alexandria on 1 July 2026; his full name is Adel Mahmoud Ali Abdel Halim and he is known as “Al-Zaama”. The arrest followed a complaint of insult and defamation through posts and clips on social media, and “offending society’s values and principles”. On 3 July, his detention was renewed for 15 days pending investigation.
Since then, Zawia3 has found no statement from the prosecution or the Interior Ministry saying whether he was released or referred to trial, or whether his case was turned into another case on a different charge, more than four months after his arrest, nor any statement from his lawyer or a rights group setting out his current legal status. Shakl had been arrested in May 2025 while visiting his son, who was detained in another case, because he was wanted on an insult and defamation complaint.
Less than two months before his arrest, Shakl wrote a post on his Facebook page, on 9 May 2026, about Sayed Moshagheb, the former leader of Zamalek supporters’ group the White Knights, who was in pretrial detention at the time, saying verbatim: “Whoever loves Sayed El-Moshagheb is a stand-up man of good stock. Sayed El-Moshagheb loves Egypt and Egypt’s political and sports and political leaderships… Beware of the rumours about Sayed El-Moshagheb. Sayed adores the soil of Egypt and the regime of Egypt and the government of Egypt. Sayed has now woken up from the coma and understands what is right.. Sayed wishes to be among his children, and God willing he will soon go home…. Al-Zaama Adel Shakl, Egypt’s trend, loves you, Sayed Moshagheb.” Zawia3 has not verified whether this post was the reason for Shakl’s arrest.
Sayed Moshagheb’s full name is El-Sayed Ali Fahim Abu El-Maaty, and he spent about 11 years in detention: the North Cairo Criminal Court sentenced him on 24 September 2017 to seven years in prison in the Air Defence Stadium case, then he remained detained after completing the sentence in Case No. 910 of 2021, Supreme State Security, on charges of joining an unlawful group and spreading false news, until the Supreme State Security Prosecution ordered his release on 6 April 2026. Hours after he returned to his home in Bulaq El-Dakrour, he was re-arrested with five others over a celebration of his release, on charges related to assembly and possessing explosive materials and fireworks without a licence, then the First Terrorism Circuit acquitted them on 20 October, after more than six months of pretrial detention.
Ahmed Sabie: a rights group’s account of his being dragged and moved to a discipline cell
The Shehab Center for Human Rights said yesterday, Saturday 14 November, that journalist Ahmed Sabie’s cell in Badr 3 prison was flooded with water on the evening of Wednesday 11 November, that he was handcuffed and beaten by special forces and prison security personnel, and was “dragged from the fourth floor to the ground floor”, then had his head shaved in a discipline cell and was denied his medication, before being returned to his cell on Saturday. The centre listed names it said were “possibly involved”, including the prison’s head of investigations and an officer in whose presence it said the assault took place, and called on the Journalists Syndicate and the Public Prosecutor to intervene.
The Arab Observatory for Media Freedom had described on 8 November a similar assault, dating it to Wednesday 4 November, and it is not clear whether the two accounts describe one incident or two. Two days before the centre’s account, Sabie’s wife said she could neither confirm nor deny reports of his torture because visits are banned, as Friday’s brief noted. According to the centre’s own posts, the number of detainees in isolation or discipline cells in Badr 3 rose from 20 on 14 October to 23 on 28 October and then to about 30 yesterday. Zawia3 found no official response to the new account. A “security source” had denied on 10 November claims of mistreatment of an unnamed inmate, saying he receives care “in accordance with the highest international human rights standards”.
“Exchanges of fire”: ten killed in a day, and 26 since the start of November
The Interior Ministry announced yesterday, Saturday 14 November, “the killing of 7 highly dangerous criminal elements in the governorates of Sharqia, Gharbia and Daqahlia, following an exchange of fire”, and on the same day three were killed and a fourth injured in the village of Al-Razqa in Abu Tisht, Qena, during a campaign with Central Security participation. The statements gave neither the names of those killed nor injuries among the forces, and no prosecution investigation into the circumstances of their deaths was announced, although the Qena report mentioned notifying “the competent authorities to take over the investigations”.
This brings the number announced killed in these operations since the start of the month to at least 26, in five announcements: 9 in Al-Qurein in Sharqia on 1 November, 5 in Qalyubia and Beni Suef on 2 November, two in Sohag on 12 November, as Friday’s brief noted, then ten yesterday. Zawia3 found no official cumulative toll, nor any announced investigation results in any of these incidents.
Contempt of religion: a lawyer banned from appearing and anyone reposting him blocked, and a content creator arrested
The Supreme Council for Media Regulation decided yesterday, Saturday 14 November, to oblige outlets subject to Law No. 180 of 2018 “to bar the appearance of lawyer Ahmed Abdou Maher, and to ban the showing, circulation or discussion of his content”, over what it described as “insolence and insults towards the Messenger of God and his honourable Companions”, and ordered “the blocking of all accounts, pages and videos of the said person… as well as blocking all other accounts and pages that show or republish what he presents”, tasked the National Telecom Regulatory Authority with implementation, and notified the Bar Association. The decision did not specify the clip or post concerned, the number of the article it relied on, or whether Maher was heard before it was issued.
The Nozha misdemeanour court had sentenced Maher at first instance in November 2021 to five years in prison for contempt of religion over a book of his. On the same day, content creator Li Li Fouad, known as “Om Dona”, was arrested, according to published reports, on charges of “misusing social media, undermining family values and contempt of religion”, after a video spread in which a worker of hers threw a Quran during a dispute over her wages, following complaints by lawyers to the Public Prosecutor. The two incidents come days after the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights’ statement on the prosecution of at least 113 people over their beliefs since the start of last year.
Romani Gharib: another 45 days after a complaint about an officer
The terrorism circuit of the Cairo Criminal Court decided to keep Romani Gharib in detention for 45 days pending investigation. His lawyer, Israa Kordy, had said his hearing before the council chamber was set for 11 November, in case No. 4832 of 2026 (Supreme State Security), on charges of joining a terrorist group and spreading false news.
According to the lawyer, Gharib, a driver, was arrested on 18 June in Suez after posting a video asking for help after an airport police officer took his ID card, licence and route permit. Zawia3 found no announcement of an investigation into his complaint about the officer, while he has been held on a charge of joining a terrorist group for about five months.
Women’s travel to Saudi Arabia: a ruling in January on a prior permit imposed since 2024
The First Rights and Freedoms Circuit of the Administrative Court reserved yesterday, Saturday 14 November, case No. 86751 of judicial year 79, filed by lawyer Hani Sameh and others, for judgment on 9 January 2027. The case challenges instructions applied since 26 October 2024 requiring a prior permit from the General Administration for Passports, Immigration and Nationality for categories of women to travel to Saudi Arabia, including housewives, holders of intermediate qualifications, nannies, cooks, hairdressers and home nurses.
The State Commissioners Authority’s report recommended annulling the decision “for violating constitutional guarantees relating to freedom of movement, the principle of equality and the prohibition of discrimination”, while the plaintiffs relied on Article 62 of the constitution and other articles. The authorities concerned have not announced how many women the instructions were applied to over two years, or why these categories were chosen.
Debt week: a new European loan, and EGP 101.5bn of foreign money into bonds and T-bills
According to the Egyptian Exchange’s weekly report, foreign institutions bought bonds and T-bills worth EGP 139.481 billion in the week just ended and sold EGP 37.942 billion, a net purchase of EGP 101.539 billion ($1.9 billion), while Egyptian institutions were net sellers of EGP 108.399 billion. Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly had said on 16 September 2025 of this money: “This money is not counted at all in the central bank’s reserves.”
The House Energy Committee, chaired by MP Tarek El-Molla, will discuss tomorrow, Monday 16 November, presidential decree No. 535 of 2026 on an agreement with the European Investment Bank for a €600 million loan, a €90 million EU grant and a €10 million technical assistance grant to upgrade the electricity grid. The bank had announced a €690 million package on 15 June, and the cabinet approved the draft decree on 30 July; the published sources on the decree gave neither the interest rate nor the repayment period.
The Plan and Budget Committee will discuss on Tuesday 17 November a briefing request from MP Mohamed Fouad Attia “on the continuing risks of refinancing government debt and the rising cost of borrowing, and the growing exposure of the government debt structure to foreign currencies… coinciding with rising non-resident holdings of T-bills”, and in a later meeting a request from MP Akmal Nagati on “the obsolescence of the data published on the Finance Ministry’s website”. The Finance Ministry had said on Friday 13 November that debt fell from 96% to 81.9% of GDP, as Friday’s brief noted.
State offerings: $625 million of a $5 billion target in the third phase
According to a tally published yesterday, Saturday 14 November, proceeds of the state offerings programme reached $5.86 billion by June 2025, while proceeds of the third phase did not exceed about $625 million of a $5 billion target. Upcoming offerings include 20% of Misr Life Insurance, from which the government targets about EGP 14 billion ($262 million).
Assistant to the Prime Minister Hashem El-Sayed had said on 6 November that proceeds from offering 45% of Banque du Caire reached EGP 36 billion ($673 million), and that the private placement for institutions, Egyptian and foreign, took 95% of the offered shares. The offerings come as the IMF mission’s visit for the final review ended without agreement, as Friday’s brief noted.
Fertilizer: “full quotas will be disbursed”, and MPs ask about the halt
The House Agriculture Committee will discuss on Monday 16 November, with the agriculture and supply ministers attending, briefing requests including those of MPs Farid Wasel and Emad El-Ghalban “on halting the disbursement of subsidised fertilizer for orchards, beet and strawberries”, and lands under the Agricultural Development Authority because some farmers were late paying instalments, along with requests on procurement prices for wheat, cane and beet, and the continued suspension of the farmer’s card for some farmers even though the reasons for suspension no longer apply.
On Wednesday 11 November, the Cabinet Media Centre said, citing the Agriculture Ministry, that the stock is “safe and sufficient” with “no shortage at all”, and that “full quotas will be disbursed”. Assuming 50 kilograms per bag, the stock the statement announced is less than half the winter season’s needs according to the agriculture minister’s figure, as Wednesday’s brief noted, after gas supplies to fertilizer plants were cut.
Social insurance: two deadlines passed, and the authority’s head before MPs today
The House Manpower Committee holds today, Sunday 15 November, its first and second meetings with the head of the National Organization for Social Insurance, Maj. Gen. Gamal Awad, attending, to discuss nine briefing requests from Adl Party MPs on delays registering forms 1 and 6, the loss of some documents submitted electronically, transactions cancelled without clear reasons, procedures differing between offices, and the absence of set service deadlines, and a request from MP Reda Saeed El-Wasimy on the future of the insurance system and the widening coverage gap. What the authority’s head said had not been published at the time of writing.
On 17 June, the committee recommended holding the authority to the date its head announced for fixing the faults, 1 August, and studying the application of Article 130 of Insurance Law No. 148 of 2019, on compensation for delays, so it is paid automatically, by 1 September. On 3 October, MP Mohamed Fouad said “both deadlines have passed”. On 12 November, the Egyptian Center for Economic and Social Rights documented cases of workers unable to end their insurance enrolment with former employers, because of some employers’ obstinacy and the authority’s administrative and digital shortcomings, including a patient who since March 2026 has been unable to end his registration to obtain treatment costing more than EGP 35,000 a month.
Building-violation settlements: EGP 15.6bn collected, and files not completed
MP Ayman Mohsseb, deputy head of the House Economic Affairs Committee, announced today, Sunday 15 November, that he had filed a briefing request to the prime minister and the ministers of local development and environment, and of housing, in which he said, citing Local Development Ministry data, that settlement applications reached about 2.2 million under Law No. 187 of 2023 and applications carried over from Law No. 17 of 2019, and that proceeds reached EGP 15.61 billion ($292 million), noting that the government had previously announced about 950,000 files whose owners had not completed their documents.
The MP noted that some holders of Form 8, who settled for incomplete columns or floors, paid the required amounts and cannot complete construction or pour roofs, and that valuations differ between governorates, and called for studying the refund or settlement of amounts proven to have been collected without legal basis, and for a binding timetable to finish the accumulated files, citing what the government has announced about preparing amendments to address the Form 8 crisis.
Electricity meters: a dispute before the courts, and fines before parliament
The Administrative Court postponed yesterday, Saturday 14 November, appeal No. 54251 of judicial year 80 against the electricity minister’s decision to bill coded meters at a flat cost-price tariff, to 16 January 2027, at the request of the electricity holding company. On the same day, MP Ahmed Farghaly filed a briefing request on charging subscribers for replacing meters at up to “3,000 pounds” ($56), retroactive deductions from prepaid cards, and halting ration goods for some beneficiaries based on Electricity Ministry data.
The House of Representatives will discuss tomorrow, Monday, amendments to the electricity law, which impose fines of up to EGP 2 million and regulate energy-efficiency companies. During the committee discussion, the electricity minister’s legal adviser, Amgad Mohamed Saeed Mahmoud, said in reply to MP Rasha Ramadan that no companies operate in this field yet, and the regulator has issued no licences.
Railways: a one-year plan, and the Ayyat crash sector off the list of lines with completed signalling
Transport Minister Lt. Gen. Kamel al-Wazir said yesterday, Saturday 14 November, at a meeting with maintenance officials at the railway workshops, that what can be done immediately will start without delay, and that the remaining measures will not exceed one year “at most”, and in a later meeting with workers announced a camera system on lines, stations and locomotives, periodic and random drug tests, and stressed that existing instructions require the automatic control device to run for the whole journey. The minister listed signalling modernisation as completed on the Cairo–Alexandria, Beni Suef–Assiut and Assiut–Nag Hammadi lines, without mentioning the Cairo–Beni Suef sector, where the Ayyat crash happened.
According to the latest implementation report on the World Bank signalling loan (August 2026), as published on 6 September, modern signalling coverage on the Cairo–Giza–Beni Suef sector was zero of a targeted 125 kilometres, and only 47.68% of the loan had been disbursed ($200.82 million of $421.2 million). On Friday 13 November the Ismailia–Suez line reopened in both directions, with operation on a single track between Nefisha and El-Dabaiya stations, where the car derailed after 8 fishplates were stolen, as Friday’s brief noted.
Alexandria: a building evacuated then collapsed, and a second evacuated
Building No. 26 on Sheikh Tammoum Street in the Mina El-Basal police district of the West district, four storeys high, collapsed yesterday, Saturday 14 November, without injuries; it had a full demolition order and was evacuated on Wednesday 11 November. Today, Sunday, Alexandria Governor Ayman Attia directed a rapid response to the fall of parts of a room’s ceiling on the first upper floor of a building on El-Komy Street in El-Matras, and the building was evacuated as a precaution, the second building evacuated in the West district, with the social solidarity directorate notified.
What was published did not say where the evacuated families will live, or how many demolition or removal orders in the governorate have not been carried out. This follows the partial collapse of a building in Port Said’s Al-Sharq district that killed two people, whose file the Administrative Prosecution’s review found was unlicensed, with evacuation and repair orders not carried out, as Wednesday’s brief noted.
Sudanese: “voluntary return” convoys continue, and a warning of verification sweeps
735 Sudanese left yesterday, Saturday 14 November, on 15 buses from the El-Matbaa area in Giza, on trips by the non-governmental “Al-Amal Voluntary Return Committee”, headed by Mohamed Wadaa, after 882 people on 18 buses last Sunday, 2,793 in October and 4,073 in September. Today, Sunday, Interior Minister decisions Nos. 1734 (4 October) and 1738 (5 October) of 2026 deporting two Uzbek nationals for reasons related to the public interest were published.
The trips come two days after the Refugees Platform in Egypt warned of a possible repeat of security verification campaigns at the end of the year, as Friday’s brief noted. Egyptian authorities have not announced how many were deported in the same period, and the announcements of the trips do not say whether any of those leaving had been detained before travelling.
Ethiopia: accusations of arming a Tigray offensive and an attack on the High Dam, and no Egyptian reply from a named official
The Chief of General Staff of the Ethiopian National Defence Force, Field Marshal Birhanu Jula, said at a press conference yesterday, Saturday 14 November, that the offensive “was led by Eritrea, with logistical support and military supplies provided by Egypt”, and that Eritrea assembled a coalition comprising the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, Fano and the Oromo Liberation Front, alongside Sudan and Egypt, to topple the Ethiopian government; the claims could not be independently verified. On the same day, Ethiopia’s Minister of Water and Energy, Habtamu Itefa, said that “Egypt implemented a number of water development projects without adequate regard for Ethiopia’s interests, including building the Aswan High Dam and other water transfer projects”, and that “Egyptian political discourse on the Nile aims partly to divert public attention from domestic challenges”.
Zawia3 found no Egyptian response to the two accusations as of this morning. Egyptian responses to similar earlier accusations came from unnamed sources: on 3 October, the Middle East News Agency quoted an “official source” as saying the crisis in Ethiopia is “internal” and Egypt has no role in it. On 13 November, Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty discussed with the US president’s senior adviser for Arab and African affairs, Massad Boulos, on the sidelines of the Sir Bani Yas Forum, “de-escalation” in the Horn of Africa and “not threatening the use of force”, without the statement naming Ethiopia or Eritrea.
Gaza: intelligence chiefs of Egypt, Turkey and Qatar speak of “completing the first phase”
The intelligence chiefs of Egypt, Turkey and Qatar agreed, at their meeting in Cairo on Friday 13 November, “to complete the first phase of the ceasefire agreement and adhere to its provisions, particularly regarding stopping the targeting… and increasing humanitarian aid”, and called for “an immediate halt to Israeli violations”. The statement did not name the participating agency heads.
On the same day, the foreign minister was discussing “the second phase” of the plan with the EU Special Representative for the Middle East Peace Process, Christophe Bigot, as Friday’s brief noted, while the mediators’ statement speaks of a first phase not yet completed. The statement made no reference to the international stabilisation force or the Rafah crossing.
Libya: Saddam Haftar in Cairo, and the Turkish maritime memorandum absent from the announced content of the meeting
The deputy commander-in-chief of eastern Libya’s forces, Lt. Gen. Saddam Haftar, met General Intelligence chief Maj. Gen. Hassan Rashad in Cairo on Friday 13 November, and the two sides discussed, according to reports of the meeting’s content, “setting up a working mechanism to activate joint strategic and economic projects” and the political process.
What was reported of the meeting’s content made no reference to the maritime memorandum of understanding signed in 2019 between Turkey and the former Government of National Accord, even though the visit is Saddam Haftar’s first since the eastern-based Libyan House of Representatives ratified the memorandum in October, a ratification Egypt announced it categorically rejected.
Photos: Head of the Union of Egyptian Tribes and Families Ibrahim al-Organi, Zawia3 archive; Al-Ittihad Alexandria’s leading fan Adel Shakl, from his Facebook page; Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, photographed by the U.S. Department of State via Wikimedia Commons (public domain).
