Egypt court upholds jail term for former Islamist presidential candidate

Cairo: An Egyptian appeals court on Tuesday upheld a seven-year prison sentence for a former Islamist presidential hopeful who was convicted of lying in nomination papers, a judicial source said.

Hazem Salah Abu Esmail, a firebrand fundamentalist leader, had a loyal following in the run-up to the 2012 elections before his disqualification.

He had claimed neither of his parents were dual citizens when his mother had acquired US nationality.

The election law banned dual citizens or their children from running for president.

That election was won by another Islamist, Mohammad Mursi, who ruled for only a year before the army toppled him and unleashed a deadly crackdown on Islamists.

Abu Esmail was arrested within days of Mursi’s ouster along with other Islamist leaders including the former president.