Validity of post-2011 violence documents pits former campaign members against one another

Sami Anan, the retired Armed Forces Chief of Staff and jailed former presidential contender, denied discussing documents regarding post-2011 violence with Hesham Geneina, the former Central Auditing Authority (CAA) head, during a Tuesday interrogation session, according to Geneina's lawyer Ali Taha.

In an interview published with HuffPost Arabi on Sunday, Geneina, who was a member of Anan's now suspended presidential campaign, claimed the former Armed Forces chief of staff had documents stored outside of Egypt that concerned a number of violent incidents in the aftermath of the 2011 revolution, a period during which the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) was the acting governing body.  

The Armed Forces responded to the interview in a Monday statement, asserting it would "use all its constitutional and legal rights in protection of national security and to maintain the army's honor." Police then arrested Geneina from his home in New Cairo on Tuesday.

Following Anan's refutation on Wednesday, the former CAA head requested that former Egyptian ambassador to Uganda Maasoum Marzouk, activist Hazem Abdel Azeem and Anan's spokesperson Hazem Hosni be brought in to provide their own testimonies, in an effort to prove the validity of Geneina's statements in the interview.

Military prosecution reportedly issued a 15-day detention order for Geneina on Tuesday, pending investigations into a complaint filed against him by the general military prosecutor concerning his Sunday statements. Geneina also faces another complaint filed by Anan himself, which accuses Geneina of libel and defamation, as well as a distortion of the former Armed Forces chief's military history, according to Taha.

Although the prosecution granted Geneina's release on Tuesday in the investigation related to Anan's accusations pending payment of a LE15,000 bail, the detention order issued in the first investigation prevented the execution of the release order, Taha told Mada Masr.

According to his lawyer, Geneina is being properly treated by military prosecution. However, the lawyer did raise concerns that the location of his client's detention has not been disclosed since Tuesday.

Military police arrested Anan on January 23, after he announced his intention to run in the March presidential election. Anan was detained on charges of announcing his bid for office without first acquiring a permit from the military, aiming to incite a rift between the Armed Forces and the public and forging his end of service documents.

Anan remains in military detention and subject to ongoing investigations, for which the general military prosecutor issued a gag order.

Geneina was assaulted in his car on January 27, sustaining injuries to his eye and leg. He has accused state institutions of planning the attack on several occasions, claims he reiterated during his Sunday interview.