Egypt MP Kortam referred to prosecution on felony charges

A Dokki misdemeanour court referred on Sunday MP Akmal Kortam to prosecution on forgery charges ahead of referring the case to a criminal court, with his initial sentence being overturned.

Judge Mohamed Nafei ruled that the misdemeanour court lacked jurisdiction in the case, arguing that forgery was a felony, not a misdemeanour.

The court’s decision follows a December appeal by Kortam that a one-year jail sentence against him be suspended with a bail of EGP 1,000.

Kortam is the CEO of Tahrir newspaper and president of the Conservatives Party.

The case was filed against Kortam on 12 November 2015 by private citizen Michael Wasfy Michael over the sale of land.

Kortam’s lawyer, Mohamed Abdel-Moly, said after the sentence was handed down that Kortam had paid money twice for the land.

Initially, according to Abdel-Moly, Kortam paid the money to Michael for the land and went to the mortgages authority to legalise the contract for the sale, but was told that the land belonged to another person.

Kortam then paid money to the actual owner of the land and filed a case to annul the contract and retrieve his money from Michael, Abdel-Moly said.

The inheritors of Michael then filed the case against Kortam, accusing him of forgery.

A ruling by the criminal court can still be appealed by the MP if the prosecution decides to refer the case to court.

The court is to request lifting parliamentary immunity from Kortam if he is tried on criminal charges.

source: Ahram Online