Cairo: Egypt’s top appeals court on Wednesday rescinded an earlier ruling placing football legend Mohammad Abu Treika on a terrorism list and ordered the case be heard again at a low court.
Wednesday’s verdict was issued by the Court of Cassation that granted appeals lodged by Abu Treika in a case that involves him and 1,537 other people including leaders from the now-banned Muslim Brotherhood.
In 2017, a Cairo criminal court placed Abu Treika and senior Brotherhood leaders, including ousted president Mohammad Mursi, on the terror list for three years on charges of offering illegal funding to the Islamist Brotherhood.
The latest ruling is unlikely to allow Abu Treika to return to Egypt from Qatar, where he has been staying for more than three years. He is working as a football commentator in the Gulf emirate.
In April this year, another criminal court designated Abu Treika and 1,527 others as terrorists on similar charges in a second case. The listing means that the defendants are barred from leaving the country, freezing their assets and putting on travel watch lists if they stay abroad.
Last year, Abu Treika missed his father’s funeral in Egypt for fear of arrest.
Abu Treika, quit footballing in 2013 after playing for the top Cairo club Al Ahly and Egypt’s national team. He played a major role in Egypt’s win of the African Cup of Nations in 2006 and 2008.
He repeatedly voiced his backing to Mursi, whom the army deposed in 2013 after massive street protests against his year-long rule. However, Abu Treika has not said clearly he is a member of Mursi’s Brotherhood designated in Egypt as a terrorist organization.
Abu Treika is nicknamed by devotees as the “Prince of Hearts” and the “Saint” due to his support for the poor and the Israel-besieged Palestinian Gaza Strip.
