Islamist Wasat Party leader Madi to be released from detention

A Giza criminal court ordered late Monday the release of Wasat Party head Abul-Ela Madi – a staunch supporter of Egypt’s ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi – after he spent over two years behind bars.

The court decided to set him free after accepting an appeal against a decision extending his detention, pending investigation into his terror-related charges.

The former Muslim Brotherhood member is to be released because he is not currently standing trial and has already served the maximum detention period, Reuters’ Aswat Masriya quoted his son Ahmed as saying.

Madi was arrested in July 2013 shortly after the ouster of Morsi. He is accused of inciting violence ahead of deadly clashes in Giza between opponents and supporters of Morsi following his toppling.

He is also charged with attempted murder and belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood, from which Morsi hails. The group was declared a terrorist organization months after Morsi’s ouster.

Madi was a prominent member of the Brotherhood before parting company with the Islamist group in the 1990s to seek to establish the Wasat Party, which was only launched after the 2011 uprising.

For a while, the Wasat Party was a prominent member of the National Alliance to Support Legitimacy, a coalition that was formed by Islamist parties and groups to call for the reinstatement of the imprisoned Morsi, among other demands.

Madi is one of many Islamist figures who were arrested and prosecuted for terror-related charges in the wake of Morsi’s ouster.

source:Ahram online