Geneina defence demands suspension of 'false news' trial

‘The case started when a local newspaper published falsified statements attributed to Geneina about the size of financial corruption in the public sector,' says lawyer Ali Taha

The defense team of former head of Central Auditing Organization (CAO) Hisham Geneina asked the Cairo Misdemeanor Court on Tuesday morning to suspend the trial of Geneina until a verdict is reached in another case, in which he is a plaintiff. The verdict of that case might affect the case raised against Geneina for publishing false news.
Earlier in June, Geneina was referred to the Cairo Misdemeanor Court, and stood trial on charges of harming the economy and disrupting public order.
"We asked the judge to suspend Geneina's trial in which he is accused of publishing false news. The case started when a local newspaper published falsified statements attributed to Geneina about the size of financial corruption in the public sector," Ali Taha, lawyer of Geneina, told Daily News Egypt on Tuesday.
The demand for suspension was submitted to the court as the defence team is anticipating a verdict in another case that was filed by Geneina against the journalist and two editors from Youm7 newspaper for publishing false statements. The journalist and editors had claimed that Geneina had made statements about the size of governmental financial corruption in Egypt, Taha said.
Geneina stated that wasted public funds amounted to EGP 600bn from 2012 to 2015. Youm7 had reported that he was referring to only 2015. The verdict expected to be issued in Geneina's case against Youm7 will determine the fate of the former top auditor in the case against him, Taha added.
Before the trial, Geneina was subjected to investigations by the prosecution, after which he had been offered release on bail. Geneina refused to pay, arguing that the charges against him are political and aim to tarnish his past achievements at the CAO.
Recently, the State Security Prosecution announced that Geneina's statements on wasted public funds amounting to EGP 600bn in 2015 due to state corruption are inaccurate.
Similarly, a statement issued by the general prosecutor's office stated that Geneina's statements exaggerate the amount of corruption, claiming that the former auditor stated during investigations that those numbers included other years as well, not just 2015, and for other reasons rather than just corruption.