Legion Troll
A fine upstanding poster
An Egyptian court on Tuesday nullified a government decision to transfer sovereignty of two strategic Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia, in a surprising setback for President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.
The ruling surprised even some of Mr. Sisi’s critics, who did not expect the judiciary to go against the government.
In April, Mr. Sisi transferred Tiran and Sanafir — arid and uninhabited islands at the mouth of the Gulf of Aqaba — to Saudi Arabia during a visit by the Saudi monarch, King Salman.
Saudi Arabia had placed the islands under Egyptian control in 1950, amid fears that Israel might seize them, and Mr. Sisi portrayed their return as a correction of a historical quirk rather than as a sale. Saudi Arabia has been a major financial supporter of Mr. Sisi’s since, as military chief, he led the ouster of his Islamist predecessor, Mohamed Morsi, in 2013.
The islands are of strategic value because they lie at the mouth of the Gulf of Aqaba, the only sea route to the Jordanian port of Aqaba and the port city of Eilat, in Israel.
Egyptian and Saudi officials signed at least 15 agreements during the king’s visit, including a Sinai development package and an oil deal worth $22 billion to Egypt over five years, the state news media reported. But the announcement set off unexpected protests from Egyptians who for decades had considered the islands Egyptian territory, and some critics said that Mr. Sisi had made a humiliating concession to a wealthy ally.
The ruling on Tuesday was largely unexpected, because the Egyptian judiciary has long been considered to be deferential to — and, critics would say, complicit with — the country’s leadership. In recent years, Egyptian judges have sentenced hundreds of government critics to lengthy prison sentences or even death.
If upheld, the verdict would not only leave Mr. Sisi in awkward position with an important ally, but it could also pave the way for the prosecution of senior government officials, legal experts warned. Under Egyptian law, officials who negotiate with foreign governments deals that harm national interests can be sentenced to life in prison. Some legal experts suggested that this possibility, despite being politically slim, was why the agreement was signed by the prime minister rather than by the president, who traditionally seals such deals.
If tried as individuals who compromised Egyptian territory, officials could face the death penalty.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/22/world/middleeast/egypt-red-sea-islands.html