By Darrin Simmons
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East
CAIRO, Egypt-Mohamed ElBaradei, recently-resigned interim vice president of Egypt’s foreign affairs, is being sued for a “betrayal of trust” due to his decision to resign. A Cairo court has set the trial for the 19th of September.
Mr. ElBaradei faces charges of “breaching national trust” that were brought forth by a law professor, Sayyed Ateeq, at Cairo’s Helwan University. Mr. Ateeq stated that ElBaradei could face up to three years in prison with the finding of a guilty verdict. However, judicial sources say that the maximum sentence is a fine and suspend jail time.
A co-leader of the National Salvation Front (NSF), an organization aimed at deposing ex-President Morsi, Mr. ElBaradei gained ample political support. The former head of the UN nuclear agency, he originally supported the overthrowing of Morsi from power on July 3rd.
However, on August 14th, Mr. ElBaradei resigned from his post as Vice President of Foreign Affairs. His resignation followed yet another massacre of several hundred Morsi supporters by police forces at the dispersal of a protest in eastern Cairo.
“He was appointed in his capacity as a representative of the NSF and the majority of the people who signed the Tamarod declaration,” stated Ateeq. “Dr. ElBaradei was entrusted with this position and he had a duty to go back to those who entrusted him and ask to resign instead of stepping down on his own,” Ateeq further stated.
In the aftermath of ex-President Morsi’s ousting, politically driven lawsuits have flooded the Egyptian court system on both sides of the table. Morsi supporters earlier brought numerous cases against opposition figures during Morsi’s time in power while anti-government activists have called the suits “a form of political intimidation.”
Further arrests of Muslim Brotherhood leaders along with the public prosecutor’s decision to charge Morsi have preceded the filing of the case. Mr. ElBaradei, who recently left Egypt for Europe, is unlikely to attend any part of the trial.
Khaled Dawoud, an aide to ElBaradei and former NSF spokesman reported, “If this case against ElBaradei is true then it is a major escalation showing that things are getting very polarized. You’re either on this side or on that side.”
Dawoud further expressed disapproval of the decision to file the case by saying, “Set a precedent that harms Egypt’s reputation abroad, when a politician is prosecuted just for resigning from his post, something that has never happened before in any country in the world.”
For more information, please see the following:
Aljazeera-Cairo court sets trial date for ElBaradei-21 August 2013
First Post-Egypt: Mohamed ElBaradei to be tried for ‘betrayal of trust-21 August 2013
Independent-Egypt crisis: Now Mohamed ElBaradei faces wrath of army after resigning from cabinet-20 August 2013
Reuters-Egypt’s ElBaradei to face court for ‘betrayal of trust’-20 August 2013
