Islamist to Take On Mubarak in Election
A jailed leader of the banned Muslim Brotherhood will challenge Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in the September election, his lawyer said, but the powerful Islamist group said it had not endorsed the challenger.
Essam Erian and three other leaders of the banned Islamist group were arrested and rounded up with 200 others Friday during nationwide protests for political reform.
“El-Erian told his interrogators that he will stand as a candidate in the presidential election,” said his lawyer, Abdel Moneim Abdel Maqssoud, who was present while state security officers questioned the detained leader.
A Brotherhood official confirmed that Erian had announced his intention to run, but he denied that the group had nominated a presidential candidate.
If Erian challenges Mubarak, he will have to do so as an independent because the Brotherhood has been outlawed as a political party since 1954.
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