Prominent Muslim Brotherhood leader Mahdy Akef was referred to Cairo Criminal Court on Saturday for “insulting the judiciary and defaming its men.”
The case regarding the Brotherhood’s former supreme guide was sent to the head of the Cairo Court of Appeals in order to determine the date for the first hearing, according to state-owned MENA.
Akef had a number of complaints lodged against him before 30 June for insulting the judiciary following an interview he did with Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Jareeda in which he called Egyptian judges corrupt when discussing the amendments to the Judiciary Law, which would force the retirement of a large number of judges.
“When the People’s Assembly that is elected by over 32 million citizens is dissolved by a court, this is evidence that the judiciary is diseased,” he said in his interview with the Kuwaiti newspaper.
The former Brotherhood chief initially denied the interview with Al-Jareeda, accusing the newspaper of publishing falsehood. However the publication published the sound recording of the interview.
Akef was arrested along with a large number of senior Muslim Brotherhood and Freedom and Justice Party officials following former president Mohamed Morsi’s ouster and faces charges of inciting to kill protesters in front of the group’s headquarters in Moqattam on 30 June. He is currently being held in Tora Prison along with other prominent Islamist leaders who were affected by the widespread crackdown on the group.
