Legal and Human Rights Experts Criticize Al-Shater and Nour Presidential Race Disqualification

Fathi Tamim, Lawyers’ Syndicate Deputy, described the decision to exclude Khairat Al-Shater from the presidential race as wrong and legally invalid because the decision to pardon him cancelled all sanctions and dependent measures, which means he does not need exoneration.

Tamim added that the charge against Al-Shater was a trumped up affair, the special military trial was not meant for civilians, and it was all in the era of tyranny, despotism and persecution from which all Egyptian people suffered.

Gamal Eid, Director of the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information, denounced the political exclusion approach adopted by the Supreme Presidential Electoral Commission (SPEC) against Khairat Al-Shater, Ayman Nour and Hazem Salah Abu Ismail and others.

Meanwhile, Eid expressed his support for exclusion of Omar Suleiman, the ne plus ultra of Mubarak-era holdovers, “albeit a rather belated step, that should’ve been taken some time ago”, calling for exclusion of the rest of Suleiman’s chums, like Amr Moussa and Ahmed Shafiq.

For its part, Al-Shihab Center for Human Rights also criticized SPEC’s disqualification of a number of candidates from the presidential race, with no legal justification – most notably Khairat Al-Shater and Dr. Ayman Nour – even though they received presidential pardons, which by law empowers them to exercise their political rights.

“Everyone knows that Khairat Al-Shater was wrongfully tried before a military court”, said Khalaf Bayoumi, Director of Al-Shihab Center, “and that it was a farce, no part of it was based on applicable laws and regulations.

“This is very obvious, especially as we know that after Al-Shater was acquitted of all charges by normal judiciary and pronounced innocent, he was moved to the military court. Then, the Administrative Court issued a decision to cancel the President’s order to refer Al-Shater to court-martial irrespective of all legal norms.”