Egypt former anti-graft chief sentenced to 5 years in jail

24 April 2018, 3:23 pm

Edit

A defense lawyer says an Egyptian military court has convicted the country’s former anti-graft chief of insulting the armed forces and sentenced him to five years in prison.

Hesham Genena was arrested in February following incendiary comments he made in a television interview in which he claimed that the former chief of staff Sami Annan was in possession of documents incriminating the country’s “leadership.”

In this April 16, 2014 file photo, Hesham Genena, then head of Egypt’s oversight body, poses for a portrait in front of pictures of his predecessors at his office in Cairo, Egypt. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil, File)

Annan was arrested in January shortly after he announced his intention to challenge President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi in March presidential election. He was accused of incitement against the military and forgery.

El-Sissi ran virtually unopposed, winning the election with 97 percent of the vote.

Defense lawyer Hossam Lotfy says Tuesday’s verdict against Genena will be appealed. Another defense lawyer, Ali Taha, confirmed the verdict in a Facebook posting.

— AP