Egypt’s Military Detains an Ex-General Seeking to Run for President
In a rare audio statement, the military said it was taking "necessary legal action"
against the retired general, Sami Anan, who announced his candidacy on Saturday.
The statement accused Mr. Anan, who was the chief of the general staff of Egypt’s armed forces between 2005
and 2012, of "violations and crimes" including document forgery and "incitement against the armed forces." Mr. Anan was detained as he drove through the Nasr City neighborhood of Cairo, his son Samir said by telephone.
Later on Tuesday, military officers barged into Mr. Anan’s villa, where they searched the premises
and confiscated documents, his campaign partner, Mr. Geneina, said.
23, 2018
Egypt’s military detained a retired general for questioning on Tuesday, announcing an investigation
into his bid to challenge President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in an election scheduled for March.
The elder Mr. Anan, 69, was not considered a strong challenger to Mr. Sisi, a former general who
has ruled Egypt with an iron grip since 2014, when he was elected with 97 percent of the vote.
Among them were the former prime minister Ahmed Shafik, who aides said had been pressured to quit under
threat of prosecution on corruption charges, and Anwar Sadat, a nephew of the former president.