Hazem Salah Abu Ismail

Hazem Salah Abu Ismail (born 16 June 1961) is an Egyptian lawyer, Islamic preacher and politician who ran in the 2012 Egyptian presidential election and founded the Flag Party.

Abu Ismail was born in Giza in 1961 and graduated with a law degree from Cairo University in 1983. During his career as a lawyer, he took up several high-profile cases against Hosni Mubarak's regime, which included defending prominent members of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Abu Ismail ran in the parliamentary elections of 1995 and 2005, but lost both elections amidst accusations of electoral fraud. He then retreated from electoral politics, but remained politically active through his sermons that were highly critical of the regime. He supported the 25 January revolution and announced his candidacy for the 2012 presidential election on an Islamist platform. Although considered a frontrunner, he was disqualified from running over allegations that his mother held American citizenship. Following the election, he supported Mohamed Morsi's presidency while opposing some of his policies.

Abu Ismail opposed the 2013 coup d'état that overthrew Morsi and was arrested in its aftermath. He was subsequently tried and convicted of forging official documents regarding his mother's nationality, insulting the police and inciting violence around a court, and is currently serving several prison sentences. His trials have been denounced by supporters and human rights organisations as being politically motivated.

Abu Ismail's political positions stem from his Islamist beliefs. He has advocated for the gradual implementation of Islamic law, and has criticised the United States and the Egypt–Israel peace treaty while not pushing for war with Israel. Provided by Wikipedia