Current:Home > ContactEgyptian rights group says 73 supporters of a presidential challenger have been arrested -FutureFinance
Egyptian rights group says 73 supporters of a presidential challenger have been arrested
View
Date:2025-04-17 15:18:16
CAIRO (AP) — Egyptian authorities have detained at least 73 campaign volunteers for a challenger to incumbent President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi in the December election, a rights group said Tuesday.
The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights said the detainees were volunteers working for presidential hopeful and critic Ahmed Altantawy. The dozens of supporters face a variety of charges including joining a terrorist group — government parlance for the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood — and spreading false news. Seven of them remained in detention as of Monday, the group said.
Egypt’s chairman of the National Election Authority, Waleed Hamza, on Monday announced details of elections due by next year, saying the presidential polling would be held over three days in December. The outcome is widely anticipated to be a foregone conclusion in favor of the incumbent el-Sissi. The former defense minister has led the country since 2014 and has faced criticism from the West over his country’s human rights record and crackdown on political dissent.
Altantawy, who announced his candidacy in the spring of this year, is part of a small group of politicians who have stepped up to challenge el-Sissi. Altantawy is a former lawmaker who returned to Egypt from Lebanon in May, who has said he wants to provide a democratic alternative to el-Sissi’s government, describing its treatment of political opponents as unlawful and unjust.
Altantawy has previously complained that Egyptian security agencies have harassed his campaign staff and family, and also claimed that authorities have spied on him through cutting-edge technology.
El-Sissi led the military overthrow of an elected but divisive Islamist president in 2013 amid street protests against his one-year rule. Since then, authorities have launched a major crackdown on dissent. Thousands of government critics have been silenced or jailed, most of them Islamists but also many prominent secular activists, including some of those behind the 2011 uprising that toppled longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak.
El-Sissi was first elected in 2014 and then reelected in 2018 for a second four-year term. Constitutional amendments, passed in a referendum in 2019, added two years to his second term, and allowed him to run for a third, six-year term.
Other presidential candidates who have thrown their hat into the ring publicly include Abdel-Sanad Yamama, head of the Wafd party, one of Egypt’s oldest; Gameela Ismail, head of the liberal Dostour, or Constitution, party; and Farid Zahran, head of the Egyptian Social Democratic Party.
veryGood! (25421)
Related
- All That You Wanted to Know About She’s All That
- Worker charged with homicide in deadly shooting at linen company near Philadelphia
- West Virginia Gov. Justice ends nearly two-year state of emergency over jail staffing
- A woman took her dog to a shelter to be euthanized. A year later, the dog is up for adoption again.
- Selena Gomez's "Weird Uncles" Steve Martin and Martin Short React to Her Engagement
- Johnson & Johnson sued by cancer victims alleging 'fraudulent' transfers, bankruptcies
- Animal attacks reported across USA this spring. This piece of advice could save your life.
- New research could help predict the next solar flare
- Former Danish minister for Greenland discusses Trump's push to acquire island
- Oreo maker Mondelez hit with $366 million antitrust fine by EU
Ranking
- Buckingham Palace staff under investigation for 'bar brawl'
- Legendary U.S. World War II submarine located 3,000 feet underwater off the Philippines
- NCAA, Power Five conferences reach deal to let schools pay players
- Governor appoints Jared Hoy as the new leader of Wisconsin’s prison system
- Small twin
- A survivor's guide to Taylor Swift floor tickets: Lessons from an Eras Tour veteran
- Real Housewives of Atlanta' Kandi Burruss Shares a Hack for Lasting Makeup & Wedding Must-Haves
- 20 Singapore Airlines passengers injured by turbulence still in intensive care, many needing spinal surgery
Recommendation
Juan Soto to be introduced by Mets at Citi Field after striking record $765 million, 15
Patrick Mahomes' Wife Brittany Mahomes Gives Health Update After Breaking Her Back
11-year-old graduates California junior college, has one piece of advice: 'Never give up'
11-year-old graduates California junior college, has one piece of advice: 'Never give up'
Federal appeals court upholds $14.25 million fine against Exxon for pollution in Texas
Man charged with murder in fatal shooting at Pennsylvania linen company
Morgan Spurlock, 'Super Size Me' director and documentarian, dead at 53: Reports
Pronouns and tribal affiliations are now forbidden in South Dakota public university employee emails