Ahead of Presidential Election, Egypt puts former presidential candidate on terrorism list

NewsBharati    21-Feb-2018
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Cairo, February 21: Egypt has added a prominent opposition figure Abdel Moneim Aboul-Fotouh on terrorism list. Earlier he had been arrested for alleged contacts with the banned Muslim Brotherhood. He has been alleged for plotting unrest and instability in the country.

The opposition leader was among the first few who called for a boycott of the election. “It’s clear that there is an insistence on tacking charges on to political figures in order to intimidate all politicians, even for just saying their opinions,” Abol Fotouh’s lawyer, Abdelrahman Hardy, told.

The leader was arrested after one day after he visited London where he had criticized Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi in an interview with Qatar’s Al Jazeera news channel. He had been a leading a member of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood before splitting from the group and running for president as an independent candidate in Egypt’s first free election in 2012.

Egypt is gearing up for its next Presidential election with a fixed date. The election will start on March 26, Egypt’s National Electoral Commission announced earlier. Current President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has announced his re-election bid and expected to receive a landslide win.

Egypt Terrorism Abol Fotouh Presidential Election Muslim Brotherhood