An Egyptian court has sentenced former presidential candidate Ahmed Tantawy to one year in prison with labor for allegedly forging election documents.
Additionally, he is barred from participating in elections for the next five years, according to his lawyer Khaled Ali.
Tantawy was a prominent figure challenging President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi during the previous election, where he stopped his campaign citing obstacles in gathering required public endorsements and the arrest of family members and allies by state-linked groups.
Authorities dismissed claims of interference and instead charged Tantawy with violations related to his campaign’s distribution of endorsement forms.
He had previously been found guilty in a lower court in February and was given a suspended sentence, which was now upheld.
Upon the court’s ruling, Tantawy was detained and taken to a correctional facility, joining over 20 members of his campaign who also received sentences in the case, as reported by Ali.
In addition to the prison sentence, Tantawy was fined 20,000 Egyptian pounds ($424) and prohibited from running in local, parliamentary, or presidential elections for five years.
Rasha Qandeel, Tantawy’s wife and spokesperson for his political movement, criticized the decision, calling it “a political liquidation and a targeting of the person of Ahmed Tantawy,” in an interview with Reuters.
Ali mentioned that Tantawy has the option to appeal, although the process could take up to two months.
President Sisi, who won the December election with nearly 90% of votes, securing a third term until 2030, has faced criticism from rights groups for alleged political imprisonments, which Egyptian officials deny.
Source-usnews
