Ain Shams University has decided to cancel a forum hosting Muslim Brotherhood presidential candidate Khairat al-Shater until the Cairo Administrative Court rules on the validity of his nomination, a university official said Tuesday.
Hassan Omran, head of the general department for public relations and advertising at Ain Shams University, said the forum was originally scheduled for Wednesday.
Lawyer Ahmed al-Kilany, coordinator for the National Association for Change, and a group of other lawyers had challenged Shater's nomination, saying he was released from prison on medical amnesty from Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi after the outbreak of the revolution and claiming the order was not legal.
Shater and other Brotherhood leaders were arrested in December 2006 after Brotherhood students at Al-Azhar University staged an on-campus demonstration in black suits.
In 2007, ex-President Hosni Mubarak referred them to military trial and in 2008, 25 of them received prison sentences ranging from three to 10 years after they were indicted on charges of money laundering and affiliation to a banned group.
The lawsuit claims Tantawi does not have the authority to issue the rehabilitation order Shater received.
To receive a rehabilitation order, a person is required to submit a request to criminal court six years after serving a sentence or receiving amnesty.
Even if Shater did receive a legal amnesty, he still cannot run because his name is not listed on voter lists and voter registration for this election ended on 9 March, the lawsuit says.
Translated from Al-Masry Al-Youm
