An Egyptian court on Tuesday put a leading government critic and 15 others on terror lists at the request of the public prosecutor, a judicial official said.
Abdel Moneim Abul Fotouh, who is accused of joining an illegally formed group and spreading false news in Egypt that could harm its interests, is to remain on the list for five years, the official said.
He was arrested on Wednesday after joining a call to boycott next month’s presidential election, which incumbent Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is expected win easily after most rivals were sidelined or withdrew. The identity of the 15 others put on the terror lists were unknown.
On Thursday, prosecutors ordered Mr. Abul Fotouh, a former leading member of the Brotherhood and candidate in the 2012 presidential election, be remanded for 15 days over alleged links to exiled members of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood. The interior ministry accused him of having been in contact with the group’s members in exile “to sow trouble and instability.”
Mr. Abul Fotouh was detained shortly after he arrived from London where he gave interviews in which he was critical of the Egyptian government.
Mr. Sisi was elected in 2014, a year after the former army chief ousted his Islamist predecessor Mohamed Morsi. Mr. Abul Fotouh, once a leading member of Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood, had supported the mass protests against the Islamist that prompted the military to topple him. He has since been critical of the president who has been accused of clamping down on dissent.
With no real opposition candidate, no more independent media, and no more civil society critics, let's not pretend that Egypt Pres Sisi's coming (s)election is even remotely free and fair. https://t.co/rPs1AVqIse pic.twitter.com/IQO71VxjIx
— Kenneth Roth (@KenRoth) February 13, 2018
