The Supreme State Security Prosecution ordered the imprisonment of former Islamist presidential candidate Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh for 15 days pending investigations on charges of assuming leadership in a terrorist group.
This came one day after Egypt’s top appeals court removed Aboul Fotouh from the national terrorist list after being listed on charges of having ties with the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group.
The Court of Cassation said on Saturday it had accepted appeals by Aboul Fotouh, his son and six others against a former criminal court order to place them on the list.
The prosecution accused Abou Fatouh of joining a terrorist group, with the aim of disturbing public order and endangering the safety and security of society, violating the constitution, laws and regulations, receiving funding for the purpose of terrorism, and inciting against the state.
Abuol Fotouh was arrested in 2018 after he returned from London where he had given interviews critical of the government. He appeared in an interview on Al-Jazeera criticising the Egyptian political leadership.
“Several calls and complaints urged the general prosecution to arrest Aboul Fotouh. He was later placed on a terrorism list with others for alleged ties with the Brotherhood and disseminating false news that hurt Egypt’s national security and for commanding and financing a terrorist group,” according to state media.
The Islamist politician, Aboul Fotouh, who leads the centrist Strong Egypt party, first appeared as a candidate in the 2012 presidential elections. He had partial affiliation with the Brotherhood; however, he promoted a different strategy and ideology to that of the Islamist group.
Egypt has designated the Brotherhood a terrorist organisation in December 2013, months after the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, who hailed from the group.
