#the_armed_forces

  • Egyptians online angry over arrest of presidential hopeful Anan

    BY BBC MONITORING

    Egyptians online have expressed their anger at the army’s arrest of former military Chief of Staff and presidential hopeful Sami Anan.

    Several Twitter users said the arrest was a sign that the regime of President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi was “panicked” by Anan’s candidature, describing the arrest as an act of “thuggery”. Users also urged another hopeful to withdraw from the race.

    Earlier on 23 January, the army announced in a statement that Anan will be referred to investigation for “clearly violating” army laws and codes.

    The army said that Anan “committed the crime of forgery in official documents” and announced his presidential bid without receiving prior approval from the armed forces.


    “Freedom for Sami Anan”

    Shortly after the arrest of Anan, the Arabic hashtags #Sami_Anan, #Khaled_ Ali, #the_presidential_polls and #the_armed_forces have become trending in Egypt, garnering about 20,000 comments over the past couple of hours.

    User @mnjjdddopp said that the arrest of Sami Anan “condemns Sisi in front of the world”. (http://bit.ly/2DCdOfW)

    “Freedom for Sami Anan, Sisi and his gang do not want [fair] elections. This is unprecedented thuggery,” Pro-Muslim Brotherhood rights activist Haytham Abokhalil tweeted to his 218k followers. (http://bit.ly/2DyGlTR)

    “It seems plausible now to believe that the regime was panicked by Sami Anan’s candidacy,” User @karimeltaki said in English. (http://bit.ly/2DtSoyr)


    “Withdrawal is not weakness”

    Meanwhile, thousands others called on the leftist rights lawyer Khaled Ali to withdraw from the presidential race.

    “I hope that Khaled Ali will withdraw from the presidential polls after the arrest of Sami Anan,” User @a_aboufaddan tweeted. (http://bit.ly/2DumrWE)

    “At present, withdrawal is not weakness, it is [a sort of] objection and rejection of the farce taking place. Khaled Ali must withdraw,” user @bassuma_tarek tweeted. (http://bit.ly/2n594VJ)

    “I’m certainly with the withdrawal of Khaled Ali,” User @Dokansalah tweeted. (http://bit.ly/2Dz396A)