On Saturday, the Egyptian Court of Cassation (the highest judicial body) sentenced the controversial president of Zamalek Club, Mortada Mansour, to one month in prison, convicting him of insulting and slandering Al-Ahly Club President Mahmoud Al-Khatib and insulting his family’s reputation through social media.
Al-Khatib had filed a lawsuit against Mansour (70 years old), and the Court of First Instance issued a ruling to imprison Mansour for one year with enforcement, but the Court of Appeal reduced the sentence to one month’s imprisonment with enforcement in August 2022.
The decision of the Court of Cassation, Saturday, upheld the latest ruling.
And local media reported that Mortada Mansour was transferred to prison immediately after the end of the Court of Cassation session that he attended.
Video footage was also circulated on social media of Murtada Mansour while he was being deported to serve his sentence.
On Saturday, Mansour wrote on his Facebook account, “Finally, the president of Al-Ahly club imprisoned the president of Zamalek club for the first time in the history of sports. He refused the appeal, but awaiting the decision of the heavenly judge.. Do not worry about the lions, do not fear death, and also do not fear imprisonment.”
He continued, “The plan was to overthrow me in the elections by fraud, before that I was dismissed from the presidency of the club for 4 years, after which the board of directors was dissolved, and the fourth step was my imprisonment. This step was somewhat delayed.”
It is expected that the coming hours will witness the fate of the Zamalek club’s board of directors, after the club’s president was imprisoned.
Along with Al-Ahly, Zamalek is one of the most prominent clubs in Egypt and Africa, and it won the local football league title 14 times, compared to 42 for Al-Ahly, and the African Champions League five times, compared to 10 for Al-Ahly, the record holder.
Mansour, the former MP, has been making headlines for his controversial stances and does not hesitate to violently attack and criticize his opponents.
His parliamentary immunity allowed him to avoid prosecution on charges of insult and defamation in particular.
In 2018, he announced his intention to run for the Egyptian presidency, before abandoning the idea.
