The main defendant in the Rafah massacre case, an alleged jihadi militant recently arrested by authorities, has claimed that former President Hosni Mubarak was preferable to his Islamist successor, Mohamed Morsy.
Adel Mohamed Ibrahim, otherwise known as Habbara, said Mubarak was an "infidel" but that he viewed him in a better light than Morsy. He made the remarks during questioning with prosecutors.
Habbara added he regarded Mubarak, Morsy and interim President Adly Mansour as infidels, but believed Morsy to be the worst for "falsely claiming Islam" whilst in government.
In August, 25 Central Security Forces recruits were kidnapped and killed in Rafah, North Sinai, in a case that became known as the "Second Rafah Massacre."
Habbara has denied committing the crime or having any relation with the perpetrators. He did regard the massacre as an honourable act though. "If I had done this, I would admit it, because I believe that those soldiers were infidels warriors who should have been killed."
Habbara claimed that State Security Service officials detained him without charge for 10 months before he was sentenced to a year in prison on charges of assault, which he claimed were fabricated.
He escaped Wadi al-Natrun prison amid the January 2011 revolution, one-and-a-half months before his sentence concluded. Habbara said he was then arrested in August 2013 for alleged involvement in the Rafah massacre.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
