CAIRO: Egypt’s military prosecution has ordered a former anti-corruption chief detained for two weeks after he suggested a sidelined presidential candidate possessed damning material against leading officials, state media reported Wednesday.
Hisham Geneina had been arrested on Tuesday following his remarks in an interview published by HuffPost Arabi.
Geneina had been a top campaign aide to former military chief-of-staff Sami Anan, whom the military also detained after he announced he would stand in next month’s presidential election against incumbent Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.
Anan is accused of having declared his candidacy illegally while still a registered officer in the military, as well as incitement against the armed forces.
Geneina is accused of spreading “false news that harms national Egyptian security and affects the military institution and threatens authority,” the official Al-Ahram newspaper reported.
His detention may be renewed after 15 days as the military prosecution investigates.
Geneina was sacked by El-Sisi as head of the Central Auditing Authority in 2016 after being accused of exaggerating the cost of corruption in Egypt.
