48 Facts About Khaled Ali

Khaled Ali is known for his advocacy for reform of government and private sector corruption and for promoting social justice and labor rights.

Khaled Ali is the former head of the Egyptian Center for Economic and Social Rights, and co-founder of the Front for Defending Egyptian Protesters and the Hisham Mubarak Law Center.

Khaled Ali won the "Egyptian Corruption Fighter" award in 2011.

Khaled Ali was an activist before, during, and after the 2011 Egyptian Revolution.

Khaled Ali has been involved in worker strikes before and since the downfall of Hosni Mubarak's regime, and has been an active supporter of the role of workers in the revolution and the labor mobilisation that took place during it.

Khaled Ali has denounced violent acts by the police and military, and has represented revolutionaries and the families of those killed in court.

Khaled Ali was against the rule of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces and supported postponing the drafting of a new constitution until after the 2012 election.

Khaled Ali's platform was one of social and economic justice, including core issues such as regional economic strength, protecting natural resources, fighting corruption, addressing unemployment, and improving workers' rights.

Khaled Ali laid great stress on education, which he believes will lift Egypt out of poverty.

Khaled Ali announced he would run for the 2018 presidential race, but ultimately withdrew.

Khaled Ali was born in Dakahlia Governorate to a modest rural family He enrolled at Zagazig University's law school in 1990 and graduated in 1994.

Khaled Ali's career has been highlighted by several prominent legal cases and victories, most involving corruption and the private sector.

Khaled Ali fought corruption by the Mubarak government, which had illegally privatised public land and public sector factories.

Khaled Ali served on the legal team that halted the privatisation of Egypt's national health insurance and presided over the legal team advocating for transparency and protection of public insurance and pension funds.

Khaled Ali is known for filing and winning a landmark court case in 2010 that forced the government to set a minimum wage commensurate with the cost of living; it was raised to 1,200 Egyptian pounds per month and covers all workers.

In 2007, Khaled Ali noted the growing trend of strikes as a sign of political change: "Taboos were broken during the past few years of political ferment, and workers grew less afraid," he said.

Khaled Ali supported the December 2008 founding of the independent General Union of Real Estate Tax Authority Employees.

Khaled Ali said that while middle class youth sparked the Arab Spring, which expressed the political will of the Egyptian people of different classes, the workers had set the stage.

Khaled Ali has called on state authorities to allow workers to self-manage their companies when they are stalled, or when investors flee the country.

Khaled Ali was active in the 2011 revolution, supporting worker's strikes and representing protesters and the families of martyrs against the government, while condemning the violence of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces and Egypt's police forces.

On 3 February 2011, Khaled Ali was among those detained by security forces after a raid on the HMLC in Cairo.

Khaled Ali criticised the Ministry of Social Solidarity for what he saw as their attempt to "monopolise" patriotism and decried the defamation of activists protesting against Mubarak and privatisation, as well as the practice of trying civilians before military tribunals as human rights violations committed by the Cabinet and SCAF.

Gamal Eid, a well-known leftist lawyer and the director of the Arab Network for Human Rights Information, who works with the Khaled Ali campaign, said that a group of activists and workers began campaigning even before Khaled Ali announced his candidacy.

Khaled Ali said his mission was to achieve the revolution's goals and spoke of the need to lift Egypt out of poverty, citing education as a "fundamental tool" to accomplish this goal.

Khaled Ali said, "We must support the Palestinian struggle against the Zionist occupation; we must collaborate with the Palestinian resistance and lift the blockade on Gaza".

Khaled Ali wanted the public sector to regain its status and social importance by "providing affordable goods and proper employment policies".

Private property as a concept was not a problem for Khaled Ali, who believes that "no society can properly develop" without it; however, the enjoyment of it does not carry the inherent right to violate labor laws.

Khaled Ali called for a mixed economy and a "partnership" of the public, private and cooperative sectors that would prevent price fixing and monopoly.

Khaled Ali declared his support of reviving the public sector "with or without US consent".

Khaled Ali is very critical of the military Supreme Council of the Armed Forces.

Khaled Ali has accused them of propaganda and state-media manipulation surrounding the election.

Khaled Ali advised the military to maintain its relationship with the Egyptian populace and not to parrot the police, who lost its favor.

Khaled Ali spoke out against military ownership of industry and the means of production.

Khaled Ali has criticised economic assets accumulated by SCAF, championing the need to renationalise factories and other assets.

One particular example Khaled Ali criticised is foreign exploitation of 120 of Egypt's gold mines, saying use and development of the nation's mineral wealth should be planned and not become a means for foreign companies to benefit.

Khaled Ali said the army should turn factories and economic projects over to the public sector and let the unemployed work, rather than conscripts.

Khaled Ali said some people have exploited Egypt's revolution for their own gain and criticised members of the military and power elite, saying their previous connections with Mubarak have not weakened their undue influence in Egypt.

Khaled Ali criticised the transitional military government, which he said used violence to attack both youth and revolutionaries.

Khaled Ali is widely popular among labor and student movements due to his continual efforts at reform and social justice.

Many of Khaled Ali's supporters saw him as filling the void left by Mohamed ElBaradei's withdrawal.

Khaled Ali is known primarily as an activist lawyer and as such, as a politician, he was not widely known to his fellow citizens; even those in his circles were surprised by his decision to run, according to Al Akhbar.

Khaled Ali's lack of experience as a politician was a concern and many, even within the revolutionary movement, remained skeptical about his candidacy, which is seen as a long shot.

Khaled Ali expressed opposition to the Egyptian Constitution of 2014, calling it "inappropriate" for Egypt.

Khaled Ali initially planned to run as a candidate in the 2014 presidential election.

In November 2017, Khaled Ali announced that he would run in the 2018 presidential election, but announced his withdrawal in January 2018, citing "government violations and unfair competition".

Khaled Ali denied the charge and said he would appeal the decision, with the defence team arguing that video evidence used against Khaled Ali had undergone "manipulation".

In November 2017, Khaled Ali successfully appealed the ruling, on the grounds that the Dokki Misdemeanor Court had failed to hear the defense's arguments.

In October 2018, a judge issued an order banning Khaled Ali from travelling abroad over suspicions of links to a case dating back to late 2011 alleging foreign financing of Egyptian NGOs to harm national security.