Following the decision of the Egyptian Court of Cassation on Saturday to remove former Al-Ahly and Egypt national team player Mohamed Aboutrika from the terrorism lists, an Egyptian expert revealed some details. Lieutenant General Dr. Shawki Salah, an anti-terrorism expert and law professor at the Police Academy, stated in an interview with "Al-Arabiya/Al-Hadath" that the legal implication of the court's decision means that the legal standing of Aboutrika's inclusion on the terrorism lists has been temporarily halted, pending a decision from the Criminal Court, which will consider the request for re-inclusion, either upholding it and returning the name to the list or canceling it.
The professor at the Egyptian Police Academy indicated that the request for re-inclusion is submitted by the Public Prosecutor to the relevant chamber, accompanied by investigations, documents, or supporting information. The chamber must decide on the inclusion request within seven days of its submission, with the inclusion lasting no more than five years.
Regarding the major consequences of being placed on the terrorist list, Salah highlighted that this includes being on travel bans, preventing entry of foreign nationals into the country, confiscating or canceling passports, preventing the issuance of new passports or their renewal, and freezing assets.
Lawyer Khaled Ali confirmed that another court will look into the case again after the Court of Cassation accepted the appeal against the Criminal Court's decision issued last year, which included the defendants in the "Funding the Brotherhood" case on the terrorist list for five years until 2028. Previously, the Court of Cassation's Prosecution had recommended rejecting the appeal submitted by former Al-Ahly and national team football player Mohamed Aboutrika against his inclusion on the terrorism list for five years. The decision included Aboutrika along with 1,529 other individuals, including the family of the late former President Mohamed Morsi, leaders of the Guidance Office of the Muslim Brotherhood, Mohamed Badie, businessman Safwan Thabet, and several other businessmen loyal to the group.
Accusations and Investigations:
It is noteworthy that investigations conducted by Egyptian security agencies indicated that the player owned three companies, including a tourism company that organized trips to Turkey and facilitated the travel of Brotherhood members there. They revealed that a significant portion of Aboutrika's companies' funds was allocated to supporting jailed members of the group and their families and financing sit-ins, with monthly amounts designated for some members of the special committees, totaling approximately 23 million Egyptian pounds.
In investigations led by former Assistant Public Prosecutor Adel Saeed regarding former President Mohamed Morsi's abuse of power to favor some of his supporters in the 2012 presidential elections, it was revealed that one of the most notable beneficiaries was Shahita Fawzi Mokhtar Aboutrika, the cousin of the Al-Ahly player. A presidential decree was issued to pardon him despite accusations of embezzling 7 million pounds from the Ministry of Interior in connection with pilgrimage travel operations and forging official documents.
