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"You never let a serious crisis go to waste. And what I mean by that it's an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before." Rahm Emanuel
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People
mourn as they lay flowers in memory of the plane crash victims at
Dvortsovaya (Palace) Square in St. Petersburg. (AP Photo/Dmitry
Lovetsky)
As
investigators search for the cause of a plane crash that killed 224
people over the Sinai Peninsula on Saturday and Russia suspends all
flights to Egypt, U.S. officials said they are taking unspecified
precautionary measures to enhance the security of flights from the
Middle East.
“While the facts and circumstances surrounding the
tragic October 31 crash of Metrojet Flight 9268 on the Sinai Peninsula
are still under investigation, Transportation Security Administrator
(TSA) Peter Neffenger and I, out of an abundance of caution, have
identified a series of interim, precautionary enhancements to aviation
security with respect to commercial flights bound for the United States
from certain foreign airports in the region,” Jeh C. Johnson, secretary
for the Department of Homeland Security, said in a statement.
Johnson
said the enhancements, also adopted by European aviation authorities,
“are designed to provide an additional layer of security for the
traveling public, and will be undertaken in consultation with relevant
foreign governments and relevant passenger and cargo airlines.” [Russia halts Eygpt flights amid widening probe into plane crash]
They include expanded screening and other “seen and unseen” security measures.
MOSCOW
(Sputnik) — While covering the developments related to the Russian A321
plane crash in Egypt, media should rely exclusively on official
statements, while any "uncertain" sources should be avoided, the head
of the Egypt-led investigation committee said on Sunday.
On
Saturday, the Egypt-led investigation committee issued a statement,
according to which the reason for the Russian Kogalymavia plane crash
in Sinai is yet to be determined. The following day, Reuters reported,
citing a unidentified member of the inquiry, that investigators into the
plane crash in Egypt were "90 percent sure" the noise heard on the
final seconds of a cockpit recording was an explosion caused by a bomb.
Russian passenger jet crash: Black boxes analyzed, show no sign of system failure Live updates
The search and recovery operation continues in Egypt’s Sinai after a Russian passenger plane crashed there, killing all 224 people on board Saturday. Russian and Egyptian investigators are looking into the causes of the tragedy.
08 November 2015
13:13 GMT
13:12 GMT
Investigators of the jet crash are "90 percent sure" that the noise heard in the final moments of the cockpit recording was a bomb exploding, a member of the investigation team told Reuters.
09:32 GMT
Emirates Airlines expects the plane tragedy will result in demands for stringent aviation security across the globe, the airline’s president, Tim Clark said, as cited by Reuters.
09:27 GMT
The luggage of Russian tourists who arrive from Egypt is undergoing stricter than usual checks, said Igor Pedan, an official from UTG aviation services, which maintains Moscow’s Vnukovo Airport.
“The procedure was non-standard, I can say,” he said. “All luggage was sent to a special zone, [it] was checked by cynologists [dog-handlers] with [sniffer] dogs, the luggage was checked by special equipment and only then was transferred to a clear zone, for passengers to pick it up, ” he added.
Read More Here
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Unclear 'noise' recorded before A321 crash, its nature to be determined – Egypt’s investigators
The
Russian A321’s black box recorded an unclear noise before crashing in
Sinai, the head of Egypt’s investigation committee has confirmed.
However, spectral analysis is required to determine its nature.
The
head of the Investigations Committee, Captain Ayman Mokadem, said the
nature of debris scatter suggests an in-flight break up, but it is still
too early to draw conclusions on the causes of the crash. While both
flight data recorders have been found, the investigators are still
studying them.
Mokadem confirmed that some “noise” can be
heard on the recording right before the crash. He still said its nature
is unclear and a spectral analysis will be carried out to identify it.
An international team of investigators are at the scene still “collecting information,” he said.
Ayman el Mokadem says there are 47 investigators into Metrojet crash - 29 from egypt, 7 russia, France 6, Germany 2 - Ireland 3 #egyptcrash
According
to the flight data recorders, the incident occurred 23 minutes and 14
seconds after takeoff at an altitude of 30,888 feet in climbing mode, at
a speed of 281 knots-autopilot engaged, he said.
The
investigators have listened to the audio from the cockpit voice recorder
and are currently in the phase of writing the transcript, he added.
Access
to the crash site has been impeded by bad weather since Tuesday, he
said. An investigation team consisting of 58 experts plan to return to
the site as soon as weather conditions improve in the next few days.
Vladimir
Putin orders halt to all flights to Egyptian airports as evidence
mounts that flight 9268 was brought down rather than suffering
mechanical failure
Russian tourists queue at the airport in Sharm El-Sheikh. Photograph: Mohamed El-Shahed/AFP/Getty
Friday 6 November 2015 15.42 EST Last modified on Friday 6 November 2015 20.10 EST
The
sound of an apparent explosion can be heard on the flight recorder of
the Russian-operated plane that came down over the Sinai peninsula,
killing all 224 people on board, adding to mounting evidence that a bomb
was smuggled aboard, French media sources said on Friday. Giving
further credence to the idea that the plane crash was a terrorist act
rather than because of structural failure, Russia, which for a week has been resistant to speculation about a bomb, suspended flights to all Egyptian airports.
An
Egyptian-led international team of aviation experts, including some
from France, successfully recovered the black box, the flight recorder,
from the crash site. Several French media outlets, including the
television station France 2, reported that the investigators had
listened to it and concluded that a bomb had detonated, which would seem
to rule out structural failure or pilot error. The pilots can be heard
chatting normally, including contact with airport controllers, up until
the apparent explosion.
The reports about the black box contents came as British attempts to bring passengers home from Sharm el-Sheikh descended into chaos on Friday.
While
Russia had earlier suggested that the UK was acting prematurely in
halting flights to the Red Sea resort over terrorism fears, Vladimir Putin
ordered even wider restrictions on Friday, including halting all
flights from Cairo. The head of his federal security services said it
would be “expedient” to suspend flights until they had discovered why
the Airbus 321 had crashed last Saturday.
Meanwhile, the US
announced new security measures – including tighter screening – for
flights from some airports in the Middle East. Jeh Johnson, the homeland
security secretary, said that the move was motivated by “an abundance
of caution”. Russia initially dismissed claims by Islamic State
(Isis) of responsibility for downing the Metrojet flight, which came
weeks after threats of retaliation for Russian planes bombing Syria, and
Moscow reacted angrily after David Cameron said it was “more likely
than not” a bomb.
Clues
about the fate of Airbus A321 have mounted quickly over the last few
days, pointing to the conclusion that the Russian plane was brought down
by a bomb.
The balance tipped towards terrorist action when Russia,
which had urged the UK against jumping to premature judgments, finally
bowed and suspended all Russian flights to and from Egypt.
The
move was in response to a series of developments since Tuesday, when it
was revealed that US satellite imagery had picked up a heat flash before
the plane went down.
British government sources reported
“chatter” picked up by surveillance agencies, hinting that a bomb may
have been involved. There was alarm over the extent of lax security at
Sharm el-Sheikh airport and on Friday, French media reported that
sources close to the investigation were saying evidence on the black
boxes pointed towards an attack.
The “chatter” was picked up by
one of the most important of the overseas listening stations run by
Britain’s surveillance agency GCHQ at Mount Troodos, in Cyprus. From
that listening post, the British can pick up communications as far away
as Beijing but the interest this time was nearer at hand, information
heard linking the crash to Islamic State and a bomb.
Egyptian security officials frisk a child as part of the increased
security measures at Sharm el-Sheikh airport amid chaotic scenes on
Friday. Photograph: Peter Beaumont for the Guardian
The
UK government’s attempt to evacuate thousands of stranded British
holidaymakers from the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh
descended into angry scenes as tourists berated the UK ambassador to
Cairo over further delays, with only eight out of 29 planned flights
cleared to fly.
The first two repatriation flights from Sharm to the UK touched down on Friday afternoon
after a day of conflicting information from airlines, embassy staff and
Egyptian officials over the timetable for flights, during which the
ambassador, John Casson, was heckled by furious tourists.
In
a crowded terminal of the resort’s airport hundreds of Britons were
hoping to return home after they were ferried to the airport in buses,
only for easyJet to tell them that Egypt was blocking the arrival of extra flights.
Terrifying
final moments of doomed Russian jet: Flight data reveals plane lurched
up and down then passengers were sucked out in their seats - as US
satellite detects heat flash suggesting a bomb
Doomed Russian holiday jet lurched up and down before plunging 31,000ft after being blown apart, bosses claim
Travellers still strapped in seats sucked from stricken Airbus A321 through hole at back of jet when the tail blew off
Plane crashed into Sinai peninsula killing all 224 passengers and crew just 23 minutes after leaving Sharm El Sheikh
PM said security officials are ‘looking very carefully’ at whether there is a safety risk to Britons travelling to Egypt
Published: 18:52 EST, 2 November 2015 | Updated: 23:26 EST, 2 November 2015
A
doomed Russian passenger jet lurched up and down before plunging 31,000
feet after being blown apart by an ‘external impact’, airline bosses
have revealed.
Travellers still
strapped in their seats were sucked from the stricken Airbus A321
through a hole at the back of the jet when the tail blew off 23 minutes
after leaving the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm El Sheikh, it was
claimed.
The plane twice abruptly
climbed nearly 3,000 feet in three seconds before falling 3,000 feet
moments later in the final minutes before disappearing from radar,
crashing in the Sinai peninsula with the loss of all 224 passengers and
crew.
The news comes as US officials
claim an American infra-red satellite detected a heat flash on the route
the aircraft was taking seconds before the plane fell from the sky,
suggesting there was some sort of explosion on board.
Egyptian
military approach a plane's tail at the wreckage of a passenger jet
bound for St Petersburg in Russia that crashed in Hassana
WILL YOUR FLIGHT BE CROSSING A TERRORIST DANGER ZONE? GRAPHIC REVEALS NO FLYING ZONES IN PLACE
Passenger jets leaving Britain routinely fly over areas of the world where conflict on the ground could put them at risk.
The
risk was brought into tragic focus in July last year when a Malaysia
Airlines passenger flight was shot down in eastern Ukraine by a missile
launcher allegedly operated by pro-Russian separatists. All 298 people
aboard Flight MH17 were killed.
Since then, with the exception of direct flights into Kiev, most airlines have avoided Ukrainian airspace.
However,
MH17 is thought to have been destroyed by a sophisticated long-range
missile – not the shoulder-launched devices obtained by IS gunmen and
other rebel groups. These normally have maximum vertical range of 15,000
to 20,000ft, much less than the cruising height of commercial
airliners.
Aviation
authorities issue ‘Notices to Airman’ that place restrictions on
commercial flights operated by carriers crossing hazardous airspace. For
the world’s most dangerous areas – including Syria and Libya – all
flights are banned.
But
in others restrictions only apply to flights below a certain altitude,
usually around 26,000ft, depending on the perceived range of
anti-aircraft weapons available to gunmen in those countries. Warnings
issued by the US Federal Aviation Administration cover global hotspots
including Libya, Iraq, Yemen and parts of the Sinai Peninsular in Egypt.
They are regarded as an international standard.
The
Department for Transport’s list of flying restrictions for nine
countries issued to British carriers is almost the same but also
includes Pakistan.
Planes
flying over such areas are warned not to go beneath 26,000ft because of
the risk from terrorist or rebel fighters. In many cases – such as the
Ukrainian capital Kiev – the no-fly rule does not include direct flights
in and out.
Many
terror groups around the world have access to the shoulder-launched
surface-to-air missiles, known as MANPADS – or Man-portable air-defence
systems. They were developed by the US and Russia in the Cold War.
They
are a threat to low-flying aircraft, especially helicopters, and it is
possible they could be used to attack an aircraft taking off or landing.
In
February 2003, then Prime Minister Tony Blair sent armoured vehicles to
Heathrow in response to intelligence warning of an ‘extremely probable’
terrorist attack. While it did not happen, it is likely that such an
attack could have involved the use of MANPADS.
The
data does not show the heat flash travelling at any time, as would be
the case had a ground-to-air missile been launched in the plane's
direction.
Instead, the satellite evidence illustrates that there was just a single burst of ferocious heat on the jet's path.
That
has now opened up the possibility that a bomb on board, or an explosion
in a fuel tank or engine as the result of a mechanical failure, caused
the plane to come down.
All
passengers on the Russian flight from Egypt died when the plane crashed
in the Sinai peninsula Saturday, the Russian embassy said in a
statement
Egypt PM Sherif Ismail (R) at the site of the wreckage of a crashed Russian airliner in HassanaImage Credit: AFP
Emergency workers unload bodies of victims from the crash of a Russian aircraft from a police helicopter.Image Credit: AP
Relatives react at Pulkovo international airport outside Saint Petersburg after a Russian plane with 224 peoplImage Credit: AFP
Relatives react after a Russian airliner crashed, as people gather at an information desk in Russia.Image Credit: AP
Paris:
Air France and Lufthansa said Saturday they will stop flying over
Egypt's Sinai peninsula after a Russian passenger plane went down in the
area with the loss of all 224 people on board.
The airlines said they were taking the measure as a precaution while the cause of the Russian crash was investigated.
The
Daesh affiliate in Egypt has said it downed the plane, without saying
how, but Russia's transport minister said the claim "cannot be
considered accurate" and an Egyptian security official said the plane
did not crash because of an attack.
An Air France spokesperson
told AFP they would not fly over Sinai until further notice, "as a
precaution" while "clarification" was sought over why the Russian
charter plane crashed.
Lufthansa told the German newspaper Die Welt it was taking the same measure for the same reason.
Military
experts have told AFP that Daesh terrorists in Sinai do not have
weapons capable of hitting an aircraft at 30,000 feet (9,000 metres),
the altitude of the airliner when it lost contact.
But they have
not ruled out a bomb on board or the possibility that the plane was hit
by a rocket as it descended because of technical problems.
A
senior Egyptian air traffic control official said the pilot of the
Airbus A321 told him in their last communication that he had radio
trouble.
Moscow, Cairo refute Daesh claim on downing Russian plane
Sat Oct 31, 2015 6:43PM
Egypt's
Prime Minister Sherif Ismail looks at the remains of a Russian airliner
after it crashed in central Sinai near El Arish city, north Egypt,
October 31, 2015. (Reuters Photo)
Moscow and
Cairo have denied claims by the Daesh Takfiri group's Egyptian
affiliate to have downed a Russian aircraft that crashed in North Sinai
with more than 200 passengers on board.
“Now in various
media there is assorted information that the Russian passenger
(plane)... was supposedly shot down by an anti-aircraft missile, fired
by terrorists. This information can’t be considered accurate,” Russian
Transport Minister Maksim Sokolov said on Saturday.
“We are in
close contact with our Egyptian colleagues and aviation authorities in
the country. At present, they have no information that would confirm
such insinuations,” he added.
Meanwhile, Mohamed Samir, Egypt’s
army spokesman, also refuted the claim by the Takfiri group, saying that
“the army sees no authenticity” to the terrorists claims or videos.
“They
can put out whatever statements they want but there is no proof at this
point that terrorists were responsible for this plane crash” he said.
“We
will know the true reasons when the civil aviation authority in
coordination with Russian authorities completes its investigation,” he
added.
An
Egyptian soldier and rescue crew transfer the body of a victim of a
plane crash, from a civil police helicopter to an ambulance at Kabrit
airport in Suez, east of Cairo, Egypt, October 31, 2015. (Photo by
Reuters)
Terrorists, non-state actors had no capacity to down Russian plane, security & aviation experts say
Published time: 1 Nov, 2015 01:34
84175
While
the investigation into the causes of the Russian passenger jet crash
over the Sinai Peninsula continues, civil aviation and security experts
agree that theories that the plane was downed by a militant group can be
ruled out, despite terrorists making such claims.
All
224 people on board the Kolavia airline’s flight from resort area Sharm
El-Sheikh to Russia’s St. Petersburg died after the aircraft crashed in
Egypt's Sinai Peninsula on Saturday. Experts are still decoding the
flight recorders, and the Russian Air Transport Agency has said that
there is no point in hypothesizing about the cause of the crash until
there is reliable data on the circumstances.
While
Islamic State jihadist group allegedly claimed responsibility for the
attack, saying it downed the Airbus A321 as retaliation for Russia’s
airstrikes against terrorist targets in Syria, aviation and security
experts believe it to be highly unlikely.
“As far as it’s
known, Islamic State and its affiliate groups don’t have the capability
to bring down aircraft flying at the height that this aircraft
reportedly was, which is something around 10,000 meters,” security analyst and former UK counter-terrorism officer Charles Shoebridge told RT.
The Gaza Strip one of the most densely populated areas in the world.
Around 1.8 million people call this coastal strip of just 360 square
kilometres, home. And eight years of blockades and wars have crippled
its economy. 43 percent of Gazans are unemployed, and 39 percent live in
poverty. They’re still rebuilding after last year’s war with Israel and
depend on international aid to survive. Much has been pledged, but
Israel only allows a portion of the essentials to pass through.
TUNNELS OF LIFE
Tunnels that run beneath the Egyptian border provide a vital lifeline
for many struggling families in Gaza. Smugglers often risk their lives
to use the tunnels - as Egypt has restricted access to the Rafah
crossing since its military deposed former president Mohamed Morsi in
July 2013. So far this year, the crossing’s only been open for 15 days.
Egypt also begun to demolish the tunnels in Sinai - over 1,400 of them
since the beginning of 2014. And now, it seeks to flush out the
smugglers once and for all by flooding the tunnels.
EGYPTIAN FISH FARMS
Egypt says it wants to use its 14-kilometre border with Gaza for a
different purpose - to build fish farms. And Egypt’s military has
already begun to dig along border to set up 18 fisheries. But Gazans
fear the project is just a ploy to reinforce the blockade. Hamas
official Mushir al Masri said it was to tighten the siege on Gaza. Egypt
previously cleared homes along the border to expand a buffer zone and
its military regime has accused Hamas of supporting militant groups in
the Sinai peninsula. But Hamas, which is an offshoot of the Muslim
Brotherhood now outlawed by Egypt, has denied the claims.
STRUGGLE TO SURVIVE
But because of the fisheries, prices of supplies smuggled into Gaza have skyrocketed.
Smugglers are now installing water pumps into tunnels to ease the
flooding. Currently, it’s believed that only 20 tunnels are still
actively being used. The mayor of Rafah, Subhi Radwan, has warned that
the flooding of the tunnels could cause homes on the Gazan side of the
border to collapse. He also said that filling them with sea water could
contaminate Gaza’s drinking water. But for now, Gazans have little
choice but to watch on from behind the borders.
People
rarely came this far, she told us, and it seemed to her that very few
of those that did, cared enough to ask how they were doing.
"Not well at all," she said needing little prodding. "Not well at all."
Mansura was clearly exhausted from having stayed up the night before.
Fearful
for her family, she sat outside her makeshift house just a few hundred
metres from the border between Gaza and Egypt, on guard until dawn.
"We're used to the guns and the rockets and the explosions," she said. "But now - water?"
Witness: The Gaza tunnels
Her voice trembled, and tears began to pool in her eyes.
"This is our life," she said hopelessly.
"We are so, so tired."
Mansura lives in Rafah, the town divided between Gaza and Egypt by international
Marga Ortigas covers the Asia-Pacific region for Al Jazeera English.
Seventy-three year old Mansura Abu Shaar was more than happy to talk to strangers.
People
rarely came this far, she told us, and it seemed to her that very few
of those that did, cared enough to ask how they were doing.
"Not well at all," she said needing little prodding. "Not well at all."
Mansura was clearly exhausted from having stayed up the night before.
Fearful
for her family, she sat outside her makeshift house just a few hundred
metres from the border between Gaza and Egypt, on guard until dawn.
"We're
used to the guns and the rockets and the explosions," she said. "But
now - water?" Her voice trembled, and tears began to pool in her eyes.
"This is our life," she said hopelessly.
"We are so, so tired."
Mansura lives in Rafah, the town divided between Gaza and Egypt by international political agreements in the 1980s.
With Israel the only other way in or out, Gazans saw the border with fellow-Arab Egypt as the "friendly" alternative.
It was a pressure valve when all else around them seemed to be closing in.
But the "friendly border" closed when Hamas took control of the government in Gaza in 2007.
At least in theory.
Egyptian authorities have ordered residents living along the border with Gaza to evacuate their homes [Al Jazeera]
Rafah, Gaza
- Ahmed al-Afifi cannot focus on studying as midterm exams approach.
For the past two weeks, the constant sounds of explosions have echoed
from across the border.
"We are not psychologically ready for
this," said al-Afifi, 22, a Gaza-based university student who lives in
the Palestinian side of Rafah, which shares a border with Egypt's
restive Sinai peninsula. His home is about 400m from the border, and the
explosions are part of an Egyptian military operation to initially
create a 500m-deep buffer zone.
But on Tuesday November 18, Egyptian authorities said they were to expand the buffer zone to one km.
The
army is clearing the area by using dynamite and bulldozers, a
systematic campaign also aimed at destroying smuggling tunnels into
Gaza. The operation followed the killing of 33 Egyptian soldiers in an
attack in North Sinai in October. Egyptian authorities have ordered
residents living along the country's eastern border with Gaza to
evacuate their homes, which are targeted for demolition.
On Monday
November 17, Rober Turner, head of UNRAWA operations in Gaza, said that
the buffer zone set up by Egyptian authorities will make things more
difficult . He described the siege as 'unjust'.
Published: 18:49 EST, 19 September 2015 | Updated: 20:49 EST, 19 September 2015
Egyptian
forces flooded smuggling tunnels beneath the Gaza-Egypt border in Rafah
on Friday in a reported attempt to stamp out terror activity.
Authorities
feared the tunnels, which lead from Sinai to the Gaza Strip, would
allow for smuggling by Islamist militants between the blockaded
Palestinian enclave, according to a report by DPA.
The
military pumped water from the Mediterranean Sea into the pipes of the
underground cross-border tunnels in an effort to curb the use of the
passages in their entirety.
A
Palestinian youth shows how to abseil into one of the tunnels on the
Gaza side after Egyptian forces flooded smuggling tunnels beneath the
border to the Gaza strip, in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip
Abdel Fatah al-Sisi supporters in Cairo. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
\
Abdel Fatah al-Sisi moved one step closer to Egypt's
presidency on Sunday as nominations closed, leaving the retired army
chief and the leftist Hamdeen Sabahi as the only two high-profile
candidates in the race.
Sisi is widely expected to easily win the election, which will take place on 26-27 May. He has more support than any other candidate, as well as an explicit mandate from the army, and he receives favourable coverage from most state and private media.
Egypt's
interim government, installed by Sisi last July, has portrayed the
presidential race as a sign that the country is back on the road to
democracy. "It is a very important step," Egypt's foreign minister,
Nabil Fahmy, told the Guardian, calling the electoral process "extremely
free and fair".
"Once we get it done, we will then move into the
parliamentary elections which will help us finish the roadmap [to
democracy] – and we look forward to rebuilding our future," Fahmy said.
But
among rights activists and opposition politicians there are concerns
about the integrity of the poll. By the most conservative estimate at
least 16,000 mainly Islamist dissidents have been arrested in an ongoing
crackdown on dissent. At least three high-profile candidates from the
2012 presidential campaign have boycotted the race, complaining about
the absence of free expression in Egypt, while the ousted president
Mohamed Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood was banned by court order this week
from taking part.
A late challenger – the flamboyant football-club chairman Mortada Mansour – dropped out on Saturday citing a divine vision, after a brief and bizarre campaign in which he promised to rip up the Camp David accords and to force non-believers to practise atheism in their bathrooms.
Khaled
Ali, a labour lawyer, the Islamist Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh, and Hosni
Mubarak's last prime minister, Ahmed Shafiq, all dropped out in recent
weeks – with Aboul Fotouh highlighting the impossibility of campaigning
in an environment where opposition is portrayed as treason.
Dozens of activists campaigning against Egypt's new constitution in January were arrested while putting up campaign posters,
and colleagues complained they were ignored by most media networks.
Withdrawn candidates said they feared a similar scenario in the
presidential poll.
When Sisi announced his intention to run for
office last month, state television gave him a prime-time television
slot to make a speech directly to camera.
It was a privilege not afforded to Sabahi, who was allowed only a short
state-made documentary about his career – a taste of what may be to
come, analysts said.
"If we are talking about these elections
really being fair and free, all the candidates should have access to
equal representation within the media," said HA Hellyer, Egypt analyst
at the Royal United Services Institute. "And I just don't think that's
going to happen unless things drastically change in the next four or
five weeks."
On Saturday a privately-owned channel announced that
it would not air any shows by Egypt's best-known political satirist
Bassem Youssef, a prominent Sisi critic, until after the election – in
order "to avoid influencing Egyptian voters' orientation".
Egyptian presidential candidate reportedly vows to put Sisi on trial
Egyptian
presidential candidate Hamdeen Sabahi's campaign denied remarks
attributed to him in an audio recording in which a person with a voice
that sounds like his says he would put former army chief Abdel Fattah
Sisi on trial for the deaths of hundreds of protesters. (Ahmed Gomaa / Associated Press / April 22, 2014)
By Amro Hassan
April 26, 2014, 12:41 p.m.
CAIRO
-- The only candidate running for president against Egypt’s former
military chief, Abdel Fattah Sisi, has reportedly said that if elected
he would put Sisi on trial in connection with the deaths of hundreds of protesters.
"I
don't treat Sisi as a criminal, but I plan to bring him to court ….
When I do this, I aim to heal wounds without opening up new
confrontations," candidate Hamdeen Sabahi was quoted as saying by the
Egyptian news outlet Youm7 on Friday.
Sabahi’s campaign denied the
comments were his. But Youm7 posted an audio recording of a voice that
sounded much like the candidate. According to Youm7, Sabahi was
responding to a question over transitional justice in case he wins the
presidency. He also said anyone proven responsible for demonstrators'
deaths since the 2011 uprising against autocrat Hosni Mubarak should be held accountable.
Leftist candidate Hamdeen Sabahi to challenge Sisi in Egypt election
Lobna Tarek/El Shorouk/AP
Sabahi has received several political endorsements but his chances of beating the powerful Sisi are slight
April 19, 20145:45PM ET
Leftist politician Hamdeen Sabahi officially submitted his bid Saturday to run for Egypt's presidency, making him the second candidate for next month's election alongside former army chief Abdel Fattah el-Sisi who is widely expected to win. The election is due to take place on May 26-27.
Sabahi,
who heads a political alliance called the Popular Current, created
after the 2012 presidential elections, was a member of parliament during
ousted autocrat Hosni Mubarak's years in office and came third in the
election won by Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood in 2012.
Sabahi
submitted the required documents to the presidential election committee
after gathering 31,100 signatures. The required number is 25,000.
A
third candidate, controversial figure Mortada Mansour, announced
Saturday that he would not run in the upcoming elections, after having
declared his candidacy less than a week ago, Egyptian media reported.
Egypt presidential candidate bows out, predicts Sisi victory
CAIRO
— An Egyptian lawyer and TV personality who declared days ago that he
was running for president pulled out of the race Saturday, and state
media quoted him as saying he had received a sign from God that victory
belonged to former army chief Abdel Fattah Sisi.
Mortada Mansour,
known for his outspoken style and sometimes eccentric views, also took a
parting swipe at the only Sisi opponent left in the race, leftist
politician Hamdeen Sabahi, the Ahram website reported.
Mansour,
who had announced his candidacy last weekend, has called for the
abrogation of the Camp David accords that led to peace between Egypt and
Israel, has threatened to go to war with Ethiopia over water rights,
and has urged a ban on Facebook and Twitter.
Sisi, leader of the
popularly supported military coup that ousted Islamist President Mohamed
Morsi nearly 10 months ago, is heavily favored to win the presidential
poll, to be held May 26 and 27.
![Egyptian authorities have ordered residents living along the border with Gaza to evacuate their homes [Al Jazeera]](http://www.aljazeera.com/mritems/imagecache/mbdxxlarge/mritems/images/2014/11/11//2014111161216908580_20.jpg "'Rafah has turned into a ghost town'")
Egyptian authorities have ordered residents living along the border with Gaza to evacuate their homes [Al Jazeera]
