UPDATE: Aboul Fotouh added to terror list per court ruling

CAIRO - 20 February 2018: Cairo Criminal Court has ruled to put Muslim Brotherhood (MB) dissident and former presidential candidate Abdel-Moneim Aboul Fotouh along with 15 others on terrorist-linked list, said MENA on Tuesday.

Aboul Fotouh was arrested last week over over six charges, including incitement. He has been ordered detained for 15 days following an investigation by the National Security prosecution.

The list of charges include, “inciting against the state and the constitution, call for boycotting the upcoming Presidential elections in March, being a member of a law-labeled terrorist group and communicating with fugitives, destabilizing Egypt’s stability and security aiming to topple the current regime, calling for chaos and spreading rumors and finally hindering the state’s organizations from practicing their role regarding stabling and securing the country.”

On February 12, an Egyptian lawyer submitted an official complaint to the public prosecutor, calling for the arrest of Aboul Fotouh, after appearing on an Al Jazeera television show from London. Lawyer Samir Sabry accused Aboul Fotouh of “spreading fake news” and demeaning Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi.

Highlights from Aboul Fotouh's political life

Aboul Fotouh abandoned the MB due to crucial differences between the group’s thoughts and his own. The main reason behind his dispute with the MB after years of affiliation, was announcing his intentions to run for presidency 2012 and his vision to separate between Dawaa and politics, unlike the MB behaviors then.

According to source to Egypt Today, Aboul Fotouh would have used his political party Masr al-Kawya (Strong Egypt Party) in implementing the MB plans.”He has always dreamed of getting back with them again as a leader,” the sources added.

Masr al-Kawya is an Egyptian centrist political party founded in 2012 by Aboul Fotouh. It played a key role after the revolution and the era of Muslim brotherhood affiliated-Mohamed Morsi, However after labeling the group legally as terrorist, the party’s supporters and influence gradually faded.

On January 28, five political figures released a joint statement calling for Egyptians to boycott the process because the elections will not be fair.

The figures include Aboul Fotouh; former parliament member and chairman of the Reform and Development Party Mohamed Anwar Al-Sadat; former science consultant for the presidency Essam Heggy; former chairman of the Central Auditing Authority Hisham Genena; and political science professor Hazem Hosni.

The five political personnel expressed in the statement their discontent with alleged security and administrative practices undertaken to inhibit competition in the upcoming election. However, they did not mention any details about the allegations.

Al-Jazeera has a long history of inciting violence against Egypt. Shutting down al-Jazeera is one of Egypt’s and the quartet countries’ (Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE) main demands to restore the diplomatic relations with Qatar.