Egypt’s ex-presidential candidate appears in court for first time since 2018

Abdel Moneim Abul Fotouh (R), former Egyptian presidential candidate and ex-Muslim Brotherhood member, attends a trial session at the Tora courthouse complex in southeastern Cairo on 24 November 2021. [KHALED KAMEL/AFP via Getty Images]

Egypt’s former presidential candidate and leader of the Strong Egypt Party, Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh, yesterday appeared in court for the first time since he was arrested in February 2018.

Aboul Fotouh faces charges of leading an outlawed group, in reference to the Muslim Brotherhood, as well as harming national interests and spreading false news in and out of the country.

Other defendants include the Acting Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood, Mahmoud Ezzat, as well as 23 others were also in attendance.

Aboul Fotouh has denied all the charges against him, explaining that he ceased to be a member of the Muslim Brotherhood in 2000. He later ran as an independent candidate in the 2012 presidential elections, gaining nearly a fifth of the vote in the first round.

The court postponed the session to 28 December.

READ: Egypt court renews detention of Aboul Fotouh, Ola Qaradawi

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