Disqualified presidential hopeful Hazem Salah Abu Ismail said protests in Abbasseya that began Friday are not being staged for him, but for many other reasons.
He accused the media of fabricating stories to make it seem like he is the cause of violence that broke out at the protest several times since it began Friday.
Angry over his disqualification from the race, Ismail's supporters began the sit-in Friday night and were later joined by other activist groups protesting against the ruling military council and Saturday attacks on the demonstration.
“The media tries to fabricate the truth to convince people that Abbasseya incidents are sparked by Hazem Abu Ismail’s supporters,” he posted on his Facebook page, writing that statements asking him to stop the protests were misleading.
Abu Ismail added that protesters took to streets for public issues, his disqualification among them.
“I have no control over them," the page read.
Jama'a al-Islamiya leader Assem Abdel Maged held Abu Ismail supporters responsible for the clashes between protesters and unidentified armed men on Wednesday that left at least 11 dead.
“Abu Ismail’s supporters have the biggest share of the bloodshed in Abbasseya Square,” he said during a phone interview with the privately-owned satellite channel Dream TV.
“Everyone should know that Abu Ismail supporters participated in shedding the blood and killing victims along with the Interior Ministry and the ruling military council.”
The Presidential Elections Commission excluded Abu Ismail from the race in April after determining his mother held both Egyptian and American citizenship. Shortly after the decree, the Salafi preacher encouraged his supporters on 20 April to continue a sit-in at the headquarters of the Presidential Elections Commission in Heliopolis until the decision is reversed. They later moved their protest to Tahrir Square and then Abbasseya.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
