Complaint filed against Abdel Moneim Abouel Fotouh for insulting the president

Alexandria prosecution opened an investigation Sunday into complaints filed against former presidential candidate Abdel Moneim Aboeul Fotouh for insulting the president and inciting people to undermine state institutions.

The complaint, filed by lawyer Tarek Mahmoud, also accused Abouel Fotouh of belonging to a terrorist organization.

Mahmoud said Abouel Fotouh is used as a “tool to execute the international Muslim Brotherhood organization’s instructions,” the state-owned Al-Ahram newspaper reported, citing his interviews with the media, in which Mahmoud asserted he was following the group's instructions.

In an interview on BBC Arabic on Thursday, Abouel Fotouh reiterated his calls for holding early presidential elections, claiming “mismanagement” on political, economic and social levels.

“I am not questioning [President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s] intentions,” Abouel Fotouh said. “He wants to serve his country, but there is mismanagement.”

Abouel Fotouh went on to cite rights violations against Egyptians, explaining that oppositional groups and individuals are constantly threatened, either by receiving phone threats or through court cases.

“This is the republic of fear that Sisi or security bodies have created,” he claimed. “A lot of people are afraid of a reality that exists.”  

He cited the disappearances of people and the crackdown on protests, asking “what do you expect then, other than people being afraid?”

Mahmoud called for an immediate investigation and a travel ban for Abouel Fotouh, who is a former member of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Guidance Bureau, and was expelled from the Brotherhood in mid-2011 for seeking to nominate himself in the presidential race.

He came fourth in the elections, after which he established the Strong Egypt Party, which opted to boycott the parliamentary elections “due to the lack of adequate democratic standards” in the country, according to a party statement.