Abu Ismail trial adjourned to October

The South Cairo Criminal Court on Sunday adjourned the trial of Salafi figure Hazem Salah Abu Ismail to October 21, on charges of forging his mother’s nationality when he presented it to the Supreme Elections Council in 2012, MENA reported.

The trial was adjourned because security forces were unable to bring the defendant to the court for the second time in a row, citing security reasons.

Public Prosecutor Hisham Barakat referred Abu Ismail to the Criminal Court last month. The former presidential candidate is accused of forging his application to run in the election by claiming that his mother, Nawal Abdel Aziz Nour, did not hold foreign nationality, when she was in fact a US citizen — a violation of electoral law.

After a strong show of support early on in his presidential campaign, Abu Ismail was disqualified from the 2012 race due to these charges.

In April, a court ruled in Abu Ismail’s favor against the Interior Ministry, which was unable to provide sufficient evidence of his mother’s dual citizenship.

Abu Ismail was arrested last month in the course of sweeping arrests of Islamist figures, and was held in custody pending investigations. According to news reports, he is accused of inciting the killing of 21 people in clashes close to the Ben al-Sarayat neighborhood in Giza. The clashes erupted after supporters of deposed President Mohamed Morsi staged a sit-in in the area.