Former Egypt anti-graft czar referred to military court

By Sayed Fathi

CAIRO (AA) - Egyptian military prosecutors on Thursday referred Hisham Geneina, a former anti-graft czar, to a military tribunal to face charges of disseminating “fake news” about the Egyptian armed forces.

Ali Taha, a lawyer for Geneina, told Anadolu Agency that his client's first court hearing had been set for next Monday at a Cairo military court.

Sami Anan, a popular former army chief, had considered running in Egypt’s recent president election with Geneina, 61, as his running-mate.

But Anan's presidential bid was stopped in its tracks when he was told by military officials that his planned electoral campaign lacked the army's “approval”.

In early February, Geneina had told reporters that Anan possessed documents implicating top military officials in a host of corrupt practices in the period following Egypt’s 2011 popular uprising.

Geneina was arrested shortly afterward for “disseminating false statements and rumors that could threaten public security”.