CAIRO: An Egyptian court sentenced former presidential hopeful Ahmed Tantawy to a year in prison with labour on Monday. His lawyer Khaled Ali said authorities also barred him from contesting elections for the next five years.
Tantawy was the most prominent politician to challenge President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi as he sought a third term last year.
Tantawy halted his campaign saying state-linked groups had stopped him from gathering enough public endorsements to register as a candidate. Dozens of his family members and allies had been arrested, he said.
Authorities charged him with campaign violations for distributing separate endorsement forms. A lower court found him guilty in February, upholding a suspended sentence.
Tantawy was also fined 20,000 Egyptian pounds ($424), and barred from contesting any elections in Egypt for five years.
“This is a political liquidation and a targeting of the person of Ahmed Tantawy,” Rasha Qandeel, Tantawy’s wife and spokesperson for his political movement, told Reuters.
Ali said Tantawy had the right to appeal but that it could take up to two months to launch the appeal process.
Officials declared Sisi the winner with under 90% of the votes cast in the December elections. This secured him a third term until 2030.
Rights groups estimate that tens of thousands of people have been jailed in Egypt for political dissent under Sisi. Egyptian officials have denied holding political prisoners.
(REUTERS)
