Egypt court upholds prison term for former anti-graft chief

An Egyptian court on Sunday upheld a five-year prison sentence for the country's former anti-corruption chief, found guilty of insulting the military, legal sources said.

A military court rejected Hisham Geneina's appeal and confirmed his sentence, a judicial source said, over comments made in an interview with the news website HuffPost Arabi.

Geneina was head of Egypt's Central Auditing Organization until he was sacked by President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in 2016 for allegedly exaggerating the cost of corruption.

He subsequently became a top aide to former military chief of staff Sami Anan, who planned to challenge Sisi in presidential polls but was arrested.

Geneina claimed Anan held documents on "political events and crises that Egyptian society has passed through" since the 2011 uprising.

He said the documents could be released if Anan — who remains in jail — was harmed.

Following the interview, Geneina was detained in February 2018 and sentenced last April to five years in prison for "spreading news that harms the armed forces."

Sunday's ruling "could be challenged before a higher military court," Geneina's lawyer Ali Taha said.

Moataz Wadnan, the journalist who conducted the interview, was also detained but has not yet been put on trial, according to rights lawyer Negad al-Borai.

Geneina's daughter Shorouk told Reuters she believed the sentence was upheld "for political reasons, especially during the time while the constitution is being amended. They don't want anyone to open their mouth or be outside (prison) during the coming period."

"While unsurprising, the decision to deny Geneina's appeal is a disappointing continuation of Sisi's efforts to repress anyone who dares to challenge him," said Timothy Kaldas, non-resident fellow at the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy.

The Egyptian parliament is currently debating proposed constitutional changes that could allow Sisi to stay in power until 2034 and tighten his control over the judiciary.

"The broader roundup of critics should be understood in the context of a campaign of intimidation designed to minimize resistance to Sisi's efforts to amend the constitution and rule Egypt for decades," Kaldas added.

In one such incident, four members of the liberal Al Dostour Party were arrested on February 22.

The party's lawyer said he believed the arrests were connected to the individuals' opposition to the constitutional amendments.

"They announced that they reject the constitutional amendments. That's the extent of their activity, which is the position of the party and a legitimate political activity," he said.

The four — Gamal Fadel, Helal al-Masri, Ahmed Rasam, and Ramadan Abu Zeid — have not been formally charged, but the investigations revolve around incitement and joining a banned group, the lawyer said on condition of anonymity.

Separately, a man was detained in Tahrir Square after holding a sign calling on Sisi to quit. The man posted a video on social media saying he was being taken away in a police car, and his lawyer said his whereabouts remain unknown.

(Source: Agencies)

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