By Al Bawaba NewsNobel prize winner and Egypt’s former vice president Mohamed ElBaradei is to be tried in court over his decision to resign from government.The case, Reuters reported, is to take place on September 19, and was filed by a university law professor, Sayyed Ateeq.
“I raised a case against Dr. ElBaradei. He was appointed in his capacity as a representative of the NSF and the majority of the people who signed the Tamarod declaration,” Mr Ateeq told Reuters, in a reference to the coalition that led the anti-Mursi protests.
“Dr. ElBaradei was entrusted with this position and he had a duty to go back to those who entrusted him and ask to resign.”
ElBaradei, who left Egypt earlier this week for Europe, could face a three year jail sentence, Mr Ateeq told Reuters, although a judicial source said that if found guilty, a fine would be imposed over a jail sentence.
The former head of the U.N. nuclear agency quit his post as Egypt’s Vice-President in protest at the violent crackdown against the Muslim Brotherhood.
News of his trial comes in the wake of a wave of arrests of Muslim Brotherhood leaders.
Khaled Dawoud, a former aide to ElBaradei, told Reuters that any decision to try the Nobel peace prize winner would mark a significant political step.
“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,” he said. – Eurasia Review
