An Egyptian administrative court has adjourned until Wednesday a legal suit – filed by leftist MP and presidential hopeful Abul-Ezz El-Hariri – against leading Muslim Brotherhood member Khairat El-Shater's presidential bid.
El-Hariri's suit calls on the court to overturn a recent decision by Egypt's ruling military council granting El-Shater the right to participate in politics. El-Shater had earlier been barred from such activity due to prior convictions on criminal charges under the ousted Mubarak regime.
In 2007, El-Shater – along with dozens of other Brotherhood members – was convicted by a military court for illegal money-laundering activity and for belonging to a "banned group." Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood was formally outlawed from the 1950s until shortly after last year's revolution.
In statements to the press, El-Shater's lawyer Abdel-Moneim Abdel-Maqsoud pointed out that his client had since been retried by the same military court, which had ultimately found him innocent of all criminal charges.
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