Loula Lahham

Egypt’s parliament recently approved the bill that is now waiting for President al-Sisi’s signature. It imposes sentences of up to five years in prison and fines up to a US$ 650,000. According to critics, the law’s restrictions will have a devastating impact.

Appeals Court overturns life imprisonment for the former president. He still faces a series of trials on charges of spying and torture. Analysts and experts talk about political judgments. Egyptian scholar: Reconciliation must involve "all people."

The accused has been sentenced to one year in prison for defaming Islam on TV because he had called for the revision of medieval Qur‘anic interpretations. The spokesman of the Catholic Church agrees with the decision but deems it late. For Salafi leaders, it was wrong because he had offended Islam. Meanwhile, the head of the Journalists’ Union gets two years in prison.

The Egyptian Church leader was welcomed by the apostolic vicar and numerous faithful. Today he baptized and confirmed children in the cathedral of Kuwait-City. Spokesman for the Coptic Church: "The Egyptian Catholics abroad know little about their mother church, this is why the patriarch wants to be close to them." The Catholic Church in Kuwait has about 200 thousand faithful, mostly migrants from Asian and Arab countries.