Hazem Abu Ismail, 2012 presidential candidate and Salafi leader, was denied his request to change judges on Wednesday by the Cairo Court of Misdemeanors.
Abu Ismail had claimed there was a conflict between him and the judges because of a trial on Jan. 20 where he was sentenced to one year of jail time for insulting the judiciary. The court rejected his request and imposed on him a 4,000 EGP (U.S. $575) fine, Youm7 reported.
Abu Ismail is facing charges of presenting forged documents to the Supreme Electoral Commission during in the 2012 presidential elections.
The prosecution has accused Abu Ismail of wrongly declaring that both his parents held only Egyptian passports. They argue that Abu Ismail’s mother had been a U.S. citizen since 2006 and that he forged an official document to cover this up in order to run in the elections. Presidential candidacy law forbids candidates and their parents from holding dual-nationality.
The court postpone Abu Ismail’s trial to April 5, at which point Abu Ismail will stand before the same court, Sada al-Balad reported following Wednesday’s session.
