The defunct Freedom and Justice Party, the Muslim Brotherhood’s political wing, announced late Wednesday the death of its leading figure Farid Ismail, who is serving time in prison for violence crimes.
Egypt’s Interior Ministry announced in a statement that Ismail died while receiving treatment at a Cairo hospital. The ministry said the deceased suffered from hepatic coma, adding that he was infected with the hepatitis C virus.
The FJP meanwhile said in a statement published on its official Facebook page Ismail died “after over a year and a half of astounding resilience in solitary confinement … and after sustaining a stroke and being denied medical treatment for days.”
The deceased Brotherhood figure was sentenced to seven years in prison last July for rioting and protesting at the city of Zagazig.
Ismail was elected to become member of parliament twice. He first became a parliamentarian in 2005, under the rule of former president Hosni Mubarak, then again in 2011, as part of a parliament that barely lasted six months before being dissolved after a court deemed it unconstitutional.
Born in the governorate of Sharqiya in 1957, Ismail graduated from Zagazig University’s faculty of pharmacy, where he later became a professor.
The parliamentarian was arrested in September 2013, following the military ouster of Muslim Brotherhood member and politician Mohamed Mursi in July the same year, which was prompted by mass protests against his rule.
Ismail was referred to trial and was still facing a slew of charges including inciting violence, vandalising state property, belonging to a “terrorist” group, blocking roads, and possessing unlicensed weapons.
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