Cairo Court Orders Release Of Islamist Essam Sultan

A Cairo criminal court has ordered the release of Essam Sultan, head of the Islamist Wasat Party, on bail worth LE 3,000 in a case in which he is accused of insulting Egypt’s judiciary.

Sultan will not be released, however, as he is currently facing a number of other trials.

The case for insulting the judiciary involves statements made by Sultan over alleged judicial corruption while he was a member of parliament. Many others, including members of the Muslim Brotherhood, were investigated for similar charges shortly after the ouster of president Mohamed Morsi in July 2013.

The court on Sunday ordered prosecutors to investigate Sultan’s claims that he was subjected to torture while being held in detention.

The trial was adjourned to 10 May.

Sultan, who has been in detention since late July, is also being prosecuted on charges of inciting violence at the pro-Brotherhood Rabaa Al-Adaweya protest camp last summer which led to the alleged death of three people by torture.

He is also accused of calling on Islamists to torch state institutions in the east Cairo district of Nasr City, where the camp was held.

Since Morsi’s ouster, Egypt’s interim authorities have launched a sustained crackdown on his Brotherhood movement which has killed hundreds and left thousands in jail.

Morsi himself is behind bars and facing multiple trials over an array of charges including murder and jailbreak.

Source : Ahram online