2020 in Egypt
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| See also: | Other events of 2020 List of years in Egypt | ||||
Events in the year 2020 in Egypt.
Incumbents
[edit]- President of Egypt: Abdel Fattah el-Sisi
- Prime Minister of Egypt: Moustafa Madbouly
Events
[edit]Ongoing – 2020 Middle East storms; COVID-19 pandemic in Egypt
January
[edit]- 7 – 11 January – The African Qualification Tournament for the 2020 Men's Olympic Volleyball Tournament was held in Cairo. The tournament was won by Tunisia who qualified for the 2020 Summer Olympics.[1]
- 16 – 26 January – The African Men's Handball Championship was held in Tunisia. Egypt won their seventh title after defeating Tunisia 27 to 23 in the final.[2]
- 27 January – Egypt's High Administrative Court approved on Monday Cairo University's decision to ban its professors from wearing the niqab or face veil.[3][4][5][6]
- 28 January – 7 February – The 2020 Africa Futsal Cup of Nations was hosted in Morocco after being postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Morocco successfully defended their title after beating Egypt 5–0 in the final.[7][8]
- 31 January – A 12-year-old girl died after a genital mutilation surgery.[9]
February
[edit]- 1 February – The Grand Mufti began to rule on the legality of 37 death sentences for terrorism.[10]
- 3 February – Daesh claimed responsibility for a gas pipeline explosion in the Sinai Peninsula.[11]
- 10 – 13 February – The 2020 All Africa Men's and Women's Team Badminton Championships was held in Cairo.[12]
- 10 – 16 February – The 2020 Zed Tennis Open, the first edition of the tournament to be part of the 2020 ITF Women's World Tennis Tour, took place in Cairo.[13]
- 11 February – The Egyptian population reached 100 million.[14]
- 14 February – The Egyptian Health Ministry confirmed the first case of COVID-19 in the country.[15]
- 14 – 16 February – The 2020 African Badminton Championships was held at the Cairo Stadium Hall 2 in Cairo.[16]
- 16 February – Egypt's chief prosecutor denied that 28-year-old Egyptian student and human rights activist Patrick George Zaki was tortured for criticizing President Fattah el-Sissi.[17]
- 17 – 23 February – The 2020 Zed Tennis Open II took place in Cairo.[18]
- 29 February – The country announced that it will use "all means" to defend its interests in a dispute with Ethiopia and Sudan over a dam on the Nile River.[19]
March
[edit]- 8 March – A 60-year-old German citizen in Hurghada died, the first German fatality from the virus.[20]
- 13 March
- After a second Tunisian coming back from Egypt tested positive for the virus, Tunisia officially added the country to a list of outbreak areas. As a result, Tunisia closed its borders with Egypt and imposed a quarantine to anyone coming from the country.[21]
- Twenty people were killed after the strongest storm in the region in 35 to 40 years hits Egypt. The storm, nicknamed "the dragon," also lead to the closure of Luxor International Airport.[22]
- 18 March – Police detained four activists after they protested in front of the cabinet headquarters calling for the release of political prisoners to protect them from the spread of COVID-19.[23]
- 19 March – The minister of aviation closed airports and suspended all air travel until 31 March due to COVID-19.[24][25]
- 30 March – Museums and archaeological sites, including the Pyramids and the Sphinx at Giza, were closed until at least April 15 in an effort to combat the spread of COVID-19. Despite this, authorities still planned to light up the pyramids on 30 March to honor Egyptian health workers.[26]
April
[edit]- 4 April – The number of cases of COVID-19 in the country surpassed 1000.[27]
- 23 April
- The nighttime curfew was shortened by one hour for Ramadan, with the new curfew running from 9 pm to 6 am.[28]
- An agreement between the Spanish firm Naturgy Energy Group S.A., Italian firm Eni S.p.A., and the Egyptian government failed to resolve disputes over a gas plant in Damietta.[29]
May
[edit]- 3 May – On World Press Freedom Day, Amnesty International issues a statement claiming that journalism in Egypt has effectively become a crime over the past four years.[30]
- 8 May – President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi expanded his state-of-emergency powers in response to the increasing threat of COVID-19. As a result of the increased powers, public and private meetings, protests, celebrations and other forms of assembly can now be banned while taxes and utility payments can be postponed. The state of emergency had originally began in April 2017.[31]
- 17 May – Lina Attalah, editor-in-chief for the independent news website Mada Masr, was arrested during an interview.[32]
June
[edit]- 2 June – Egyptian-American Mohamed Soltan sued former Prime Minister Hazem El Beblawi for crimes against humanity. Soltan had been previously imprisoned in the country for 21 months after protesting against the 2013 Egyptian coup d'état.[33]
- 17 – 20 June – Egyptian hackers engaged in cyber attacks against Ethiopia's security forces.[34][35]
- 25 June – The IMF granted another US$5.2 billion loan to Egypt, bringing the total value of the loans at US$14.8 billion, in order to help the country's economy through the pandemic.[36]
- 26 June – The country lifted numerous COVID-19 restrictions, allowing for the reopening of cafes, clubs, gyms and theaters following over three months of closure. Mosques and churches were also partially reopened while the nighttime curfew was completely lifted. The moves come despite a continued growth in cases and were aimed at reducing the economic burden of the pandemic.[36]
- 27 June – Egypt executed Libyan militant Abdel-Rahim al-Mosmari for plotting an attack that killed at least 16 police officers in October 2017.[37]
July
[edit]- 6 July
- The government arrested several doctors and other medical workers who had criticized the governments handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.[38]
- Egyptian-American student Mohamed Amashah, age 24, is released from Tora Prison in Cairo after 16 months of captivity.[39]
- 10 July
- An Egyptian spy is uncovered in a German Press Office. He was looking for information on Egyptian opposition figures in Germany.[40]
- The government bans kite-flying and seizes 369 kites in Cairo and 99 in Alexandria, citing both safety and national security concerns.[41]
- 13 July – In response to the complaints of at least 100 women of sexual assault, harassment, blackmail, and rape, activists set up @assaultpolice on Instagram to collect allegations. Many of the anonymous accounts come from students at The American University in Cairo and the American International School, one of the country's most expensive private high schools.[42]
August
[edit]- 3 August – International Co-operation Minister Rania Al-Mashat invites billionaire Elon Musk to visit the country after he had tweeted, "Aliens built the pyramids obv." Archaeologist Zahi Hawass calls the tweet a "complete hallucination" and responds that the "pyramids [were] built by Egyptians."[43]
September
[edit]- 7 September – Lawyers for the family of former President Mohamed Morsi said they obtained intelligence proving his youngest son, Abdullah, 25, was poisoned. In 2019, officials had claimed he had died of a heart attack.[44]
October
[edit]- 3 October – The country unveiled 59 coffins of priests and clerks from the 26th dynasty nearly 2,500 years ago.[45]
November
[edit]- November 8 – 2020 Egyptian parliamentary election
- November 12 – A man identified as Mohammed Hosni sets himself on fire in Cairo's Tahrir Square in protest in against corruption.[46]
- November 19 – Three human rights activists belonging to the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) are arrested days for suspected links with a terror group days after meeting 13 foreign ambassadors and diplomats. UN Human Rights experts and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights condemned Egypt for the arbitrary arrests and called for their release.[47][48][49]
December
[edit]- December 8 – Human rights activists in Paris protest President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi's state visit to France.[50]
- December 29 – Ahmed Bassam Zaki, a former student at the American University in Cairo, is convicted of blackmail and sexual harassment of two women. Other charges of assault of girls as young as 14 will be heard on January 9, 2021.[51]
Planned and scheduled events
[edit]- 6 October – Armed Forces Day (national holiday).[52]
- 29 October – Mawlid (Muslim and national holiday).[52]
Deaths
[edit]
January
[edit]- 16 January – Magda al-Sabahi, actress (b. 1931).[53]
- 17 January
- Ibrahim Farah, actor (b. 1951).[54]
- Nadia Rafik, actress (b. 1927).[55]
February
[edit]- 4 February – Nadia Lutfi, actress (b. 1937).[56]
- 7 February – Lenin El-Ramly, screenwriter (b. 1945).[57]
- 15 February – Ahmed Abdel Rahman Nasser, air marshal (b. 1934).[58]
- 25 February – Hosni Mubarak, military officer and politician, former President, Prime Minister and Vice-President (b. 1928).[59]
- 28 February – Muhammad Imara, Islamic scholar (b. 1931).[60]
March
[edit]- 28 March – George Sidhom, comedian and actor (b. 1938).[61]
April
[edit]- 1 April – Mahmoud Zakzouk, politician (b. 1933).[62]
- 5 April – Mahmoud Jibril, 67, acting Prime Minister of Libya (2011); died in Cairo of COVID-19[63]
May
[edit]- 2 May – Shady Habash, filmmaker (b. 1995 or 1996).[64]
- 22 May – Adam Henein, sculptor (b. 1929).[65]
- 30 May – Hassan Hosny, actor (b. 1936).[66]
June
[edit]- 6 June – Constantin Xenakis, painter (b. 1931).[67]
- 14 June – Sarah Hegazi, LGBT rights activist (b. 1989).[68]
July
[edit]- 5 July – Ragaa Al Geddawy, actress (b. 1934).[69]
- 10 July – Mahmoud Reda, dancer, choreographer and Olympic gymnast (b. 1930).[70]
- 28 July – Mohammed Al Mashali, physician (b. 1944).[71]
August
[edit]- 2 August – Samia Amin, actress (b. 1945).[72]
- 11 August – Edmond Kiraz, cartoonist and illustrator (b. 1923).[citation needed]
- 13 August – Essam el-Erian, politician (b. 1954).[73]
- 14 August – Shwikar, actress (b. 1938).[74]
September
[edit]- 5 September – Yousef Wali, politician and former Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation (b. 1930).[75]
- 7 September – Aida Kamel, actress (b. 1931).[76]
- 12 September – Azmi Mohamed Megahed, Olympic volleyball player (b. 1950).[77]
- 26 September – Almontaser Bellah, 70, actor.[78]
- 29 September – Abd al-Rahman Abd al-Khaliq, 80, Egyptian-Kuwaiti Islamic scholar and preacher; heart attack.[79]
October
[edit]- 14 October Mahmoud Yassin, 79, actor.[80][81]
- 24 October – Abu Muhsin al-Masri, 62, Islamic militant (al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent); shot.[82]
November
[edit]- 7 November – Moustafa Safouan, 99, psychoanalyst.[83]
- 19 November – Fayek Azab, 77, actor.[84]
- 28 November – Shams Badran, 91, politician, Minister of Defense (1966–1967).[85]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Drawing of lots for Volleyball Olympic qualifiers done". CAVB. 17 December 2019. Archived from the original on 29 December 2019. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
- ^ "L'Egypte champion d'Afrique 2020". CAN 2020 (in French). 2020-01-26. Archived from the original on 2020-01-27. Retrieved 2020-08-31.
- ^ "Egypt's High Administrative Court approves Cairo University decision to ban niqab". 27 January 2020.
- ^ "Egypt Bans Niqab For Cairo University Teaching Staff | Asharq AL-awsat". Aawsat.com. Retrieved 2021-12-23.
- ^ "Egypt court backs niqab ban on Cairo University staff". 27 January 2020.
- ^ "Egypt court backs niqab ban on Cairo University staff | World News". Hindustan Times. 2020-01-27. Retrieved 2021-12-23.
- ^ "Decisions of CAF Executive Commitee [sic] - 27 & 28 September 2018". CAF. 29 September 2018.
- ^ Football, CAF-Confedération Africaine du. "Five-star Morocco hammer Egypt to retain title | Total Futsal Africa Cup of Nations". CAFOnline.com. Retrieved 2020-08-28.
- ^ "In Egypt, 12-year-old girl dies after genital mutilation". news.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2020-08-31.
- ^ "Egypt weighs 37 death sentences that include militant leader". news.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2020-08-31.
- ^ AFP. "Islamic State claims purported attack on Egypt-Israel gas pipeline in Sinai". www.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 2020-08-31.
- ^ "Aarhus Awaits the World". bwfthomasubercups.bwfbadminton.com. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
- ^ "W100 Cairo". ITFtennis.com. ITF World Tennis Tour.
- ^ "Egypt's population reaches record 100 million mark". The New Arab. Feb 11, 2020. Retrieved Feb 11, 2020.
- ^ "Egypt confirms coronavirus case, the first in Africa". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2020-08-27.
- ^ "The Road to Glory: All Africa Senior Badminton Championships 2020". Badminton Confederation of Africa. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
- ^ "Egypt's top prosecutor denies activist was tortured". ABC News. Retrieved 2020-08-31.
- ^ "W60 Cairo". ITFtennis.com. ITF World Tennis Tour.
- ^ "Egypt: We'll use 'all means' to defend Nile interests". news.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2020-08-31.
- ^ Hamburg, Hamburger Abendblatt- (10 March 2020). "Coronavirus: RKI meldet 1139 Fälle – Israel weist alle Touristen aus". www.abendblatt.de.
- ^ "Fakhfakh: "Suspension de toutes les lignes maritimes et réduction importante des dessertes aériennes"" [Fakhfakh: "Suspension of all shipping lines and significant reduction of air services"]. kapitalis.com (in French). 13 March 2020. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
- ^ "Nearly 20 killed as 'dragon' storm brings widespread flooding to Egypt". Middle East Eye. Retrieved Apr 25, 2020.
- ^ "Coronavirus: Egypt detains novelist Ahdaf Soueif for demanding prisoners' release". Middle East Eye. 18 March 2020. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
- ^ "Egypt Shuts Down Airports, Suspends Air Travel: PM". 16 March 2020.
- ^ "فيروس كورونا: حالة وفاة و46 إصابة جديدة في مصر وتزايد الإصابات في دول عربية" [Corona Virus: One death, 46 new infections in Egypt, and increasing infections in Arab countries] (in Arabic). BBC Arabic. 19 March 2020. Archived from the original on 20 March 2020. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
- ^ "Prisoners riot in Iran; Netanyahu goes into self-quarantine". ABC News. Retrieved 2020-08-31.
- ^ "Egypt's coronavirus infection rate exceeds 1,000 on Saturday: Ministry of Health and Population". egyptindependent.com. 4 April 2020.
- ^ "Egypt shortens night curfew by an hour for Ramadan". Reuters. 23 April 2020. Retrieved Apr 23, 2020.
- ^ "Eni and Naturgy's Damietta gas plant deal with Egypt falls through". Reuters. 23 April 2020. Retrieved Apr 23, 2020.
- ^ "Amnesty reports chilling details of Egypt press crackdown". ABC News. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
- ^ "Egypt's president expands powers, citing virus outbreak". ABC News. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
- ^ "Independent Egyptian media outlet says top editor arrested". news.yahoo.com. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
- ^ "Egypt's ex-PM faces torture allegation in American's lawsuit". ABC News. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
- ^ Munawer, Qamar (23 June 2020). "Egyptian cyberattack on Ethiopian Security Agency website and some other". The Eastern Herald. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
- ^ Zelalem, Zecharias (27 June 2020). "An Egyptian cyber attack on Ethiopia by hackers is the latest strike over the Grand Dam". Quartz Africa. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
- ^ a b "Egypt eases restrictions despite surge in virus infections". ABC News. Retrieved 2020-08-28.
- ^ "Egypt executes Libyan militant for plotting deadly attack". ABC News. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
- ^ "Egypt arrests doctors, silences critics over virus outbreak". news.yahoo.com. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
- ^ "American student released after 486 days in Egyptian prison". ABC News. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
- ^ "Germany says suspected Egyptian spy had no access to sensitive data". Reuters. July 10, 2020 – via www.reuters.com.
- ^ "Egypt grounds kites for 'safety', 'national security'". news.yahoo.com. Retrieved July 12, 2020.
- ^ "Accusations of serial assault spark new #MeToo wave in Egypt". news.yahoo.com. Retrieved July 13, 2020.
- ^ Furdyk, Brent. "Egyptian Government Invites Elon Musk To Visit Pyramids After He Tweets They Were Built By Aliens". www.msn.com. ET Canada. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
- ^ "Egypt: Lawyers say Morsi's son killed by 'lethal substance'". Al Jazeera. September 7, 2020.
- ^ "Egypt unveils 59 ancient coffins in major archaeological discovery". Reuters. 2020-10-03. Retrieved 2020-10-03.
- ^ "Egyptian man sets himself on fire in Cairo's Tahrir Square". msn.com. Al Jazeera English. November 13, 2020. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
- ^ "Egypt arrests: UN condemns detention of human rights advocates". BBC News. 2020-11-20. Retrieved 2020-12-10.
- ^ "OHCHR | UN experts call for release of Egyptian human rights defenders jailed after meeting diplomats". www.ohchr.org. Retrieved 2020-12-10.
- ^ "UN rights experts condemn retaliatory arrests of activists in Egypt". UN News. 2020-11-27. Retrieved 2020-12-10.
- ^ "Protesters demonstrate against el-Sissi's visit to France". Associated Press. 8 December 2020. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
- ^ "Egyptian man jailed for 3 years for sexual assault in #MeToo case". aljazeera.com. Al Jazeera English. December 29, 2020. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
- ^ a b "National Holidays in Egypt in 2020". Office Holidays. Retrieved May 2, 2020.
- ^ "Egyptian actress Magda Al-Sabahi dies aged 88: the queen of the screen starred in 60 films". The National. 16 January 2020. Retrieved 2020-08-28.
- ^ "توفي بالعناية المركزة.. من هو "إبراهيم فرح" بطل "الخواجة عبدالقادر"؟". مصراوي.كوم.
- ^ "Homepage – Infinite Scroll | MbS News". Archived from the original on 2020-06-21. Retrieved 2020-08-31.
- ^ "Egyptian Actress Nadia Lutfi Dies Aged 83". EgyptianStreets. 4 February 2020.
- ^ "Egyptian playwright Lenin El-Ramly dies aged 75 - Stage & Street - Arts & Culture". Ahram Online.
- ^ Commander of Mansoura Air Battle in 1973 War dies
- ^ "Hosni Mubarak: Former Egyptian President dies aged 91". BBC News. February 25, 2020.
- ^ "وفاة المفكر الإسلامي محمد عمارة.. وهذه وصيته | المصري اليوم". www.almasryalyoum.com.
- ^ "Egyptian comedy icon George Sidhom dies at 81 - Film - Arts & Culture". Ahram Online.
- ^ "Egypt's Mufti mourns death of former Awqaf Minister". Egyptian government. 1 April 2020.
- ^ "Former Libya Premier Jibril Dies in Cairo From Coronavirus". Bloomberg.com. Bloomberg. 5 April 2020. Retrieved February 27, 2021.
- ^ Gronlund, Melissa (24 May 2020). "Lawyers: Egypt filmmaker who mocked president dies in prison". The National (Abu Dhabi). Retrieved September 5, 2020.
- ^ "Lawyers: Egypt filmmaker who mocked president dies in prison". ABC News. Retrieved May 2, 2020.
- ^ Hosny, Hassan (2020-05-30). "Breaking: Veteran Egyption comedian Hassan Hosny dies aged 88". Egypt Today. Retrieved 2020-05-30.
- ^ Κήρυξ, Εθνικός. "Greek Painter Constantin Xenakis Dies at the Age of 89". The National Herald. Archived from the original on 2020-06-06. Retrieved 2020-06-13.
- ^ "Egyptian LGBT rights activist dies by suicide in Canada after 'failing to survive'". EgyptToday. 14 June 2020.
- ^ "وفاة الفنانة المصرية رجاء الجداوي بعد معاناة مع فيروس كورونا". BBC News Arabic (in Arabic). 5 July 2020. Retrieved July 5, 2020.
- ^ "وفاة الفنان محمود رضا أشهر مصمم رقصات مصرى عن عمر يناهز 90 عاما". اليوم السابع. July 10, 2020.
- ^ "Sheikh Mohammed paid tribute to Egyptian 'doctor of the poor', he died on Tuesday". gulfnews.com.
- ^ الإلكتروني, البيان. "بعد صراع مع المرض.. وفاة الفنانة سامية أمين - فكر وفن - شرق وغرب - البيان". www.albayan.ae.
- ^ "Senior Muslim Brotherhood figure dies in prison in Egypt". August 13, 2020. Archived from the original on September 13, 2020 – via af.reuters.com.
- ^ "Iconic Egyptian actress Shwikar dies in her 80s - Film - Arts & Culture". Ahram Online.
- ^ وفاة يوسف والي وزير الزراعة الأسبق (in Arabic)
- ^ Egypt veteran actress Aida Kamel passes away at 89
- ^ Former Zamalek volleyball star Azmy Megahed passes away of COVID-19
- ^ وفاة الفنان المصري المنتصر بالله (in Arabic)
- ^ وفاة الداعية الكويتي عبد الرحمن عبد الخالق.. هذا آخر ما نشره (in Arabic)
- ^ Egyptian Veteran Mahmoud Yassine Dies Aged 79
- ^ "Egyptian Actor Mahmoud Yassin Dies at Age 79". usnews.com. Associated Press. October 14, 2020.
- ^ Senior al-Qaeda leader Abu Muhsin al-Masri killed in Afghanistan
- ^ وداعا مصطفى صفوان... لاكان العرب (in Arabic)
- ^ Actor Fayek Azab Passes Away at 77
- ^ الأخبار/العالم-العربي/وفاة-وزير-الحربية-المصري-الأسبق-شمس-بدران-في-لندن وفاة وزير الحربية المصري الأسبق شمس بدران في لندن (in Arabic)
External links
[edit]
Media related to 2020 in Egypt at Wikimedia Commons
