Egypt's administrative court delivered a verdict on Saturday that enables detained blogger Alaa Abd El Fattah to vote in the current parliamentary elections, which kicked off on 28 November. Abd El Fattah was detained in October for alleged involvement in clashes between the armed forces and protesters outside the Maspero state TV building on 9 October. The violence resulted in the deaths of 28 protesters, most of whom were Copts. He is charged with assaulting military personnel, stealing automatic weapons from the armed forces, and inciting violence against the military. Elaborating on the verdict, the court said every Egyptian who is 18 or older has the right to vote and that the law obliges all citizens to vote in any elections held in Egypt, whether they are in the country or abroad. The court explained that being in custody does not repeal a suspect's presumed innocence, adding that citizens detained pending investigation are entitled to vote based on the Political Rights Law. The Egyptian Center for Economic and Social Rights (ECESR) had brought a lawsuit against the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, the head of the High Election Commission, the justice and interior ministers and the director of the prisons authority calling for enabling Abdel Fattah to cast his vote in the second phase of the parliamentary elections, which starts on 14 December. Translated from Al-Masry Al-Youm
