An Egyptian court has called on Interpol to issue arrest warrants for a vocal critic of the government believed to be hiding in the UK along with two other aides for spreading fake news and inciting violence.
The court at the Tora prison complex in Tora in the Egyptian governorate of Cairo ruled to notify Interpol about the arrest warrants on Sunday.
The authorities want to detain fugitive contractor Mohamed Ali and two other aides for allegedly publishing fake news, inciting violence, and joining the banned group the Muslim Brotherhood.
Mohamed Ali worked for 15 years with Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi building a palace and villas and in September 2019 before he accused Sisi of corruption. He also called for street protests to ensure the replacement of the Egyptian government.
The three suspects are also accused of spreading fake news about the economic situation in Egypt in an attempt to cause an uprising.
In 2019, Ali first fled to Spain where he started posting videos criticising the Egyptian regime in September. He later moved to the UK, according to local reports (https://bit.ly/3BHm61n).
In November 2019, a Tax Evasion Misdemeanour Court sentenced Ali to five years in prison for tax evasion.
According to local media, the public prosecutor’s office has investigated a total of 12 suspects in the case and ordered their detention for 15 days as the probe continues.
All suspects are accused of plotting to restore the Muslim Brotherhood’s regime to power while simultaneously criticising the current government.
Ali and the two aides are accused of inciting the people to rise up against the Egyptian state through fake news.
He has previously rejected the criticism of him, insisting: “I’m not a liberal, I’m not Brotherhood, I’m not a secularist. I’m a working-class guy.”
The investigation continues.
