Owner of popular retail chain 'Al Tawhid Wa Al Nour' facing terrorism funding charges released from custody

CAIRO – 27 June 2023: Lawyer Ahmed Abou El Ela Mady posted Tuesday a photo of Owner of Retail Chain "Al Tawhid Wa Al Nour" Ragab al-Sowerky surrounded by family members after his release from custody as he was being apprehended over terrorism funding charges.

Sowerky was charged with joining the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, and funding the group with millions of pounds, through transfers to the bank accounts of its leaders, to change the ruling system by force, attack the Egyptian Armed Forces, Police, public establishments, and jeopardize the national economy.

As a consequence, an arrest warrant and a prohibition on the disposal of assets were issued, and the suspect's name was put on travel ban lists.

In 2015, Agouza Felony Court absolved Sowerky from charges of insulting the Egyptian flag by imprinting it on shoes sold at his stores. In 2002, the businessman was sentenced to seven years in prison for marrying five wives at a time through forgery as the maximum legal number is four. The sentence was reduced to three years in 2003 by Appellate Court.