This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/22/world/middleeast/egypts-president-replaces-intelligence-chief.html
The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Egypt’s President Replaces Intelligence Chief | Egypt’s President Replaces Intelligence Chief |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| CAIRO — President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has removed an influential mentor as chief of general intelligence, Egyptian state media reported on Sunday, citing health concerns but raising speculation about a government shake-up. | CAIRO — President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has removed an influential mentor as chief of general intelligence, Egyptian state media reported on Sunday, citing health concerns but raising speculation about a government shake-up. |
| The president named Khaled Fawzy, a top deputy in the intelligence service, as acting chief to succeed Mr. Sisi’s friend and mentor, Gen. Mohamed Farid el-Tohamy. | |
| Both are considered proponents of a hard-line approach to national security, with little room for individual rights or political dissent. But any change is significant because the intelligence chief has been among the most powerful figures in Egypt since President Gamal Abdel Nasser established the intelligence service six decades ago, turning domestic spying into a vital tool of political power. | Both are considered proponents of a hard-line approach to national security, with little room for individual rights or political dissent. But any change is significant because the intelligence chief has been among the most powerful figures in Egypt since President Gamal Abdel Nasser established the intelligence service six decades ago, turning domestic spying into a vital tool of political power. |
| Egypt’s flagship state newspaper, Al Ahram, quoted a retired general, who was speaking in a telephone call to a pro-government talk show on Saturday night, to suggest that General Tohamy, who is reportedly in his 60s, was leaving for unspecified medical reasons. | Egypt’s flagship state newspaper, Al Ahram, quoted a retired general, who was speaking in a telephone call to a pro-government talk show on Saturday night, to suggest that General Tohamy, who is reportedly in his 60s, was leaving for unspecified medical reasons. |
| “He was suffering very difficult medical conditions for at least two months and has been receiving treatment abroad,” the retired general, Sameh Seif el-Yazal, said in the phone call. | |
| The departure comes about two weeks after an embarrassing intelligence failure. An Islamist news outlet critical of the government obtained what appeared to be leaked recordings of private conversations in the Defense Ministry after the military ouster of President Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood in 2013. Mr. Sisi, then the defense minister, is heard deliberating with other top generals, and at other moments they discussed how to manage Mr. Morsi’s imprisonment and criminal prosecution. | The departure comes about two weeks after an embarrassing intelligence failure. An Islamist news outlet critical of the government obtained what appeared to be leaked recordings of private conversations in the Defense Ministry after the military ouster of President Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood in 2013. Mr. Sisi, then the defense minister, is heard deliberating with other top generals, and at other moments they discussed how to manage Mr. Morsi’s imprisonment and criminal prosecution. |
| Egyptian officials have called the recording a fabrication. But commentators in the privately owned, pro-government news media have discussed the recording as either authentic or possibly so. | Egyptian officials have called the recording a fabrication. But commentators in the privately owned, pro-government news media have discussed the recording as either authentic or possibly so. |
| At the same time, Mr. Sisi’s government has struggled to contain an Islamist insurgency that is based in the North Sinai but is branching out. The main insurgent group recently announced an affiliation with the Islamic State extremists, and Egyptian officials believe that the group obtained confidential intelligence about the movements of senior officers in order to stage at least one of its attacks, an assault on a military checkpoint in October that killed at least 31 soldiers. | |
| General Tohamy had been considered one of the president’s closest advisers. The spy chief had supervised and promoted Mr. Sisi as an officer in the army’s military intelligence service. After leading the ouster of Mr. Morsi last year, Mr. Sisi moved quickly to install his former mentor in the intelligence job, ensuring that a loyal ally controlled the spy service before turning his attention to any other post. | |
| General Tohamy had previously appeared set to end his career in shame. When he was in his previous post, as head of a military-dominated corruption watchdog agency, a subordinate publicly accused him of colluding with officials and relatives of former President Hosni Mubarak to cover up their fraud and self-dealing. Prosecutors opened an investigation, Parliament began an inquiry, and Mr. Morsi removed General Tohamy from the government. | |
| The military takeover, however, erased the allegations against General Tohamy. As spy chief, he soon became known as the most influential advocate of the Sisi government’s sweeping crackdown on Mr. Morsi’s supporters and other dissenters. | The military takeover, however, erased the allegations against General Tohamy. As spy chief, he soon became known as the most influential advocate of the Sisi government’s sweeping crackdown on Mr. Morsi’s supporters and other dissenters. |