A Cairo misdemeanour court has postponed to 3 July the first session in the trial of prominent rights lawyer and former presidential candidate Khaled Ali, who is facing charges of "offending public decency."

 

Last week, Ali, 45, was released on EGP 1,000 bail one day after he was detained "without questioning" and referred to trial, according to his lawyer.

The postponement on Monday was requested by Ali's defence team to have more time to prepare for trial.

Ali, who recently spearheaded a case challenging a government deal to transfer two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia, faces charges of "making an obscene action [that] offends public decency."

The charges stem from an incident last January when Ali allegedly gave a middle finger while being lifted up by a crowd during a demonstration outside the State Council headquarters.

The demonstration was celebrating a court ruling annulling the 2016 deal to hand over control of the Tiran and Sanafir islands to Saudi Arabia. 

Ali did not attend the Monday court session.

The case against Ali was filed by independent lawyer Samir Sabry in January.

Ali ran for president in Egypt's 2012 presidential elections, which saw the election of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi.

Source: Ahram online