Egypt's former top auditor says his trial is political
In an interview with Al-Monitor, the former head of Egypt’s Accountability State Authority, Hisham Geneina, speaks about his controversial statements on corruption that landed him a jail sentence, calling the judiciary “flawed.”
CAIRO — Controversy erupted in Egypt earlier this year after President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi issued a decision to detain and fire Hisham Geneina from his position as head of the Accountability State Authority (ASA), the country’s central auditing agency, on charges of publicizing false news and claims, based on the statement he made about corruption costs in state institutions reaching 600 billion Egyptian pounds ($68 billion) over four years.
Despite the fact that the head of the ASA has immunity by the constitution and the law, Sisi had issued a decree on July 9, 2015, granting himself the right to dismiss heads and members of regulatory organizations and independent bodies in case one of them commits actions that endanger the security and safety of the country.
