Egyptian hardline Islamist presidential candidate arrested

Friday 05-07-2013 09:03 PM
Egyptian hardline Islamist presidential candidate arrested

Presidential candidate, Salah Abu Ismail - From his personal website

By

CAIRO, July 5 (Reuters) - An Egyptian hardline Islamist presidential candidate was arrested on Friday and accused of inciting violence as thousands of Islamists marched across Cairo to protest against the ouster of deposed President Mohamed Mursi, security sources said.

Salafi presidential candidate Hazem Salah Abu Ismail was arrested at his home, the sources said, but no other details were immediately available.

Abu Ismail was disqualified from the presidential race that brought Mursi to power in June 2012 after reports that his late mother had held a U.S. passport.

Under Egypt's election rules, both a candidate's parents must be Egyptian and with no dual citizenship.

He later won a court case against the Interior Ministry in April after authorities failed to provide proof that his mother did not hold dual nationality. (Writing by Asma Alsharif; Editing by Michael Roddy)

facebook comments