Gihan Zaki resigned from her position as Egypt’s minister of culture after a final court ruling ordered her to pay compensation in an intellectual property dispute involving writer Soheir Abdel Hamid. The case centered on a biography of Egyptian aristocrat Kout El Kouloub, with the court ruling that Zaki had violated the intellectual property rights of writer Soheir Abdel Hamid in the publication of the work. In a statement issued on Tuesday, 7 July, the Ministry of Culture said Zaki had submitted her resignation to Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly “out of respect for the judiciary and to avoid embarrassment for the government” over what she described as a personal matter. According to the ministry, Zaki said she respects the rulings of the Egyptian judiciary and would continue to pursue all legal avenues available to her, including appeals and reconsideration requests permitted under the law. Madbouly accepted the resignation and thanked Zaki for her efforts during her tenure, wishing her success in her future endeavors, the statement added. The resignation follows a final ruling by the Economic Court ordering Zaki to pay EGP 100,000 (USD 2,000) in compensation to Abdel Hamid…
