PRESS RELEASE
Egypt’s President el-Sisi Fires his Interior Minister
March 5, 2105 (EIRNS)—Two days after his return from Saudi Arabia, where he met with Saudi King Salman bin Abdelazziz, Egyptian President Abdul Fattah el-Sisi has replaced six government ministers, including his Interior Minister, Mohamed Ibrahim. Ibrahim was replaced by Gen. Magdi Abdel-Ghaffar, former head of the country’s Homeland Security Service. An Islamist channel in Turkey had "leaked out" information over the last few months from an alleged tape that suggests four men close to el-Sisi colluded to falsify parts of the case against the ousted Muslim Brotherhood President, Mohamed Morsi. Included in these four names was Mohamad Ibrahim.
Ibrahim was among the top Egyptian officials that Human Rights Watch urged to be probed for "crimes against humanity" over deadly 2013 clashes between security forces and Muslim Brotherhood-organized protesters in the country. Egypt’s leading newspaper’s website Ahram Online said today, following Ibrahim’s sacking, that "human rights activists and opposition figures have been calling for Ibrahim’s dismissal since the death of leftist activist Shaimaa Sabbagh during a peaceful demonstration on the eve of the fourth anniversary of the 2011 uprising" which ousted Hosni Mubarak.
According to Xinhua, "Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi issued a presidential decree to appoint Ibrahim as an advisor to the Council of Ministers with the rank of deputy prime minister."
Al-Ahram also said Ibrahim’s removal comes amid a deteriorating security situation with growing violence based in the border Sinai region, which the government has blamed on the Muslim Brotherhood forces, and mainly targeting security forces. The attacks have included other cities, as well as Cairo, and caused civilian death and injuries. On March 2, a bomb attack hit the capital, killing two people outside a courthouse. Late in January, at least 30 people, mostly soldiers, were killed in militant attacks against security targets in North Sinai.
