I understand that 1541 death sentences have been issued between July 3rd 2013 and May 31st 2015. Of these, 570 have been confirmed with the approval of the Grand Mufti, and they are under appeal at the Court of Cassation. This court, however, cannot consider the merits of cases but only matters of interpretation of…
As a Mathematician with a lifelong passion for numbers I have always liked statistics. I am wary of them, of course. ‘There are three types of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics” may be an overused quotation, but it does contain a grain of truth. In the wrong hands, ‘facts’ are not always what they…
Last week I spent a few days in Cairo encouraging some of the parties now preparing for elections. I first met members of the Lib Dem sister party, the Democratic Front, a few years ago when democracy in Egypt seemed to be a far off aim. None of them would have predicted the speed of…
Fantastic! I know it might go wrong as many revolutions have but my guess is that it won’t. I think we are seeing a real ray of hope in the Middle East. I have nothing but admiration for the perseverance, courage and skill of the demonstrators who have achieved so much. I wish I was…
