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An Egyptian court on Thursday rejected an appeal by Mohamed Aboutrika, one of the most successful African footballers of his generation, to be removed from his “terrorism watch list”, a judicial source said.
The Supreme Court ruled that retired footballer Aboutrika, along with 1,528 people, mostly from the banned Muslim Brotherhood, will remain on the watch list until May 2023.
He was first placed on the watchlist in 2017 on suspicion of funding the Muslim Brotherhood.
The Brotherhood was banned in 2013, months after the military overthrew Islamist President Mohamed Morsi, who was from the movement.
The court’s initial decision was then published in the Official Gazette in 2018, which he and the other defendants appealed.
Thursday’s verdict is final and without appeal, the source added.
Travel ban
In 2015, a government committee froze the assets of Aboutrika, a former player for Cairo club Al Ahly and the Egyptian national team, two years after his retirement.
According to an anti-terrorism law imposed in 2015, those on the list are subject to a travel ban, with their passports and assets subject to freezing.
Aboutrika has helped secure repeated victories for Egypt in the Africa Cup and played on Al Ahly’s sides win in the African Champions League.
He publicly endorsed Morsi’s presidential candidacy in 2012, but has repeatedly denied funding for the Islamist movement.
Aboutrika is currently a commentator for beIN sports in Qatar.
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