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Egypt court jails prominent opposition figure expected to run for president
[Iran Press TV] In a likely bid to block his candidacy, an Egyptian court has handed down a jail term to a major opposition leader widely expected to challenge President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in next year's polls for offending public morals.During his trial on Monday at the misdemeanor court of Cairo’s Dokki neighborhood, Khaled Ali, who did not appear in the court, was sentenced to three months in prison and ordered to pay 1,000 Egyptian pounds (about $57) on bail for publicly making an indecent finger gesture. The alleged offense took place back in January outside an Egyptian courthouse in the capital Cairo, where Ali and other attorneys had just won a major case against Sisi’s government, obstructing its efforts to hand over the possession of the country’s two strategic islands in the Red Sea to Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... Despite the ruling, the Egyptian president approved the transfer of the two islands to the Saudi regime, which finances Cairo with massive supplies of oil. The Monday’s verdict against the prominent opposition figure can be appealed but if it stands, it will prevent him from running for president. This is while London-based rights group "Khaled Ali’s politically-motivated conviction today is a clear signal that the Egyptian authorities are intent on eliminating any rival who could stand in the way of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s victory in next year’s elections. It also illustrates the government’s ruthless determination to crush dissent to consolidate its power," said Posted by: Fred 2017-09-26 |
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