Egypt allowed Jailed blogger Abdel Fattah to vote

By Rizwan Khatik - Sun Dec 11, 12:55 pm

Cairo: Egypt’s administrative court delivered a verdict on Saturday that enables detained blogger Alaa Abd El Fattah to vote in the current parliamentary elections, which kicked off on 28 November.

Blogger Abdel Fattah is under arrest and facing charges of assaulting soldiers, stealing weapons and vandalizing public property on October 9 at a Coptic march, among other serious charges including attempted murder.

Two eyewitnesses were reported saying they identified Abdel Fattah as he allegedly tried to assault a solider and steal his weapon. Abdel Fattah denies the allegations completely, saying he arrived to the march at a much later hour and was not involved in the violence that erupted that evening.

The Egyptian Center for Economic and Social Rights (ECESR) had brought a lawsuit against the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, the head of the High Election Commission, the justice and interior ministers and the director of the prisons authority calling for enabling Abdel Fattah to cast his vote in the second phase of the parliamentary elections, which starts on 14 December.