El-Sekka’s lawyer: el-Sekka is innocent of accusations that he has encroached on farmland

El-Sekka’s lawyer Yasser has denied the veracity of accusation directed at el-Sekka for allegedly encroaching on a plot of farmland and transforming it into a stable and an equestrian club. Yasser has thereby affirmed that el-Sekka’s actions were legal and that he has not committed any violations manifested in an encroachment upon farm land, he has also added that the area of the piece of land owned by el-Sekka is a little more than an acre and not six acres as was circulated recently. Yasser also pointed out that the land falls within an urban cordon – that is it is a location where the ministry of agriculture permits construction because it represents a small plot of farming land surrounded by buildings on more than one side. Yasser also noted that the violation which occurred with regards to buildings in the area last year had taken place prior to el-Sekka’s purchase of land in the area and thus was not intended for him.The accusations against el-Sekka go back to a complaint submitted by a group of farmers in the governorate of sixth of October whereby they accused him of encroaching on a piece of land which was of a high quality. Thus it was alleged that the land exceeded six acres and had witnessed the construction of a stable and an equestrian club named “el-Sekka Equestrian Sports” in a violation of a law which prohibited construction on farm land. The farmers who submitted the complaint further claimed that el-Sekka had made use of his relations to the sons of the former president, ‘Alaa and Gamal Mubarak, in order to see the effort through.According to the complaint which was numbered 234 – governorate of the sixth of October, el-Sekka had purchased the land which lies in the Shubrament rural area on the understanding that it was farmland which had ample access to irrigation. However el-Sekka did not use it for its assigned purpose but rather converted it into farmland and an equestrian club, thereby denying hundreds of families of simple means from accessing their livelihood which requires their work on the disputed land. The complaint further added that the governorate had issued decree number 211 for the year 2010 which obligates el-Sekka with the removal of the contested development on the farmland. However it is alleged that el-Sekka did not respond to the decree due to his relationship with Mubarak’s sons – as claimed by those who had levied the complaint.El-Sekka’s lawyer has described the complaints as attempts to compromise his client’s reputation with regards to issues that do not relate to him. It should be noted that el-Sekka’s career activities have been delayed. In particular the film “al-Maslaha” (“The Asylum”) has been put on hold. The title was to feature the talents of Ahmed ‘Ezz, ‘Amr Youssif, Hanan Tourk and Zeina. The screenplay for the title was authored by Wael and it was to be directed by Sandra Nashaat.