Egypt arrests ex-military chief Sami Anan for running against Sisi

Egypt's army on Tuesday detained ex-military chief of staff Sami Anan over his intention to run for president in upcoming elections, his campaign organisers said.

Anan announced his presidential bid in a video declaration posted on his official Facebook page last week.

His campaign organisers said he was detained after the army summoned him for questioning over his presidential bid.

Sources told The New Arab that dozens of members of Anan's campaign team were also detained.

On Monday, senior exiled Muslim Brotherhood leader Youssef Nada wrote an open letter on his Facebook account to Anan, listing the outlawed group's conditions for supporting his candidacy.

Egypt's army said in a statement, which appeared on state TV and was read aloud by a spokesman, that "the armed forces will not overlook the blatant legal violations (Anan) has committed which are a serious breach of the laws of military service".

Anan announced his candidacy "without getting permission from the armed forces ... or taking the steps necessary to terminate his service", it added.

The interior ministry could not immediately be reached for comment. The military gave no immediate comment on the alleged arrest.

Ex-army officials must receive permission from the military and have ended their service to run for political office in Egypt.

The Egyptian army statement alleged Anan had falsified official documents that said his military service had ended.

Last week, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi announced he will be a candidate in presidential elections due to take place in March.

Political opponents have encountered a range of obstacles to running against him.

Former Egyptian premier Ahmed Shafiq announced he would not stand against Sisi after he was deported from the UAE, where he had been living in exile since 2012, back to Egypt last month.

He is believed to have been placed under house arrest since he returned.

Mohamed Anwar Sadat, a dissident and nephew of Egypt's late president of the same name, also announced last week that he would not run in the poll because the climate was not right for free elections.

Other potential candidates include Khaled Ali, a rights lawyer and 2012 presidential candidate who challenged the government over Egypt's controversial transfer of two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia.

It remains unclear whether he will stand, as he was sentenced in absentia in September to three months in jail on accusations of "offending public decency", a ruling he appealed.

Separately, military Colonel Ahmed Konsowa was sentenced by a military court in December to six years in jail after he announced his intention to stand.

Sisi led the military's 2013 coup against former president Mohammed Morsi, a democratically elected Islamist aligned with the Muslim Brotherhood.