Tripartite meeting FOREIGN Minister Sameh Shoukri discussed the situation in Libya in a tripartite meeting with his Italian and Algerian counterparts on Sunday. The three officials underlined the importance of regaining peace and stability in Libya, supporting the efforts of UN international representative Bernardino Leon in reaching a political solution in Libya as well as backing the legitimate regime that is represented by the elected parliament and the internationally-recognised government. They also agreed on the importance of tackling illegal immigration and terrorism and working together to guarantee the unity of the Libyan state. It was the second tripartite meeting for the three officials. The first was held in the Italian capital Rome in March. Meanwhile, Shoukri said in a meeting with his Libyan counterpart Mohamed Al-Dairi on Monday that stability would be “unlikely” in Libya without mobilising support for the present government. Shoukri also briefed Al-Dairi about the outcome of the tripartite meeting. Al-Dairi said that Egypt's support is a “source of reassurance” for his government and voiced hope that all Libyan parties participating in the ongoing dialogue will put national interests “above all other considerations” and manage to build consensus. Boycotters held THE BEHEIRA prosecution on Saturday ordered the detention of three members of the banned 6 April Youth Movement pending trial on charges of possessing flyers that call for civil disobedience on 11 June. The three were arrested in Abu Al-Matamir in Beheira governorate. The group recently launched a campaign calling for a nationwide civil disobedience campaign to protest at a number of economic, social and political conditions including price hikes, reports of mistreatment of civilians by security forces, and repression of all opposing opinion. Last month 6 April called on the public to stay home on Thursday 11 June to “boycott the state” by not going to work, universities, schools or use government facilities on that day. The movement attributed its decision to launch a civil strike instead of a street protest to recent arrests of activists breaking the protest law. The law, passed in November 2013, mandates a three-day prior notification period to authorities before protests, and punishes anyone who fails to obtain a permit to up to three years in prison. Since its passing, thousands of Islamists and other non-Islamist activists have been sentenced for periods ranging from one to three years based on the law. 6 April, which was founded in 2008, played an important role in fomenting the 2011 uprising against former president Hosni Mubarak. Since the 2013 ouster of Mohamed Morsi, the movement -- which opposes both the Muslim Brotherhood and the post-Morsi government -- has been denounced by many Egyptian media outlets. A Cairo court banned the group in April 2014. Many of the group's members, including founders Ahmed Maher and Mohamed Adel, are currently serving prison sentences for violating the protest law. Lacking objectivity EGYPT on Tuesday dismissed a report issued by New York-based Human Rights Watch on human rights conditions in Egypt as being politicised and lacking in objectivity and accuracy. The report said that the first year in office of President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi had seen increased abuses and an escalation in violence by both armed groups and the government, and charged Western governments with overlooking the abuses. “The report is politicised and lacks the basic tenants of accuracy and objectivity,” Egypt's Foreign Ministry said in a statement. It quoted the ministry's spokesman as saying HRW had no credibility with Egyptian public opinion and accused it of “spreading lies”. HRW has targeted Egypt since the overthrow of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013 and was carrying out a “systematic campaign” against Egypt, the spokesman said.
