A number of leading public figures signed a petition on Wednesday backing former Bibliotheca Alexandrina head Ismail Serageldin, who was recently sentenced to a three-year term in prison on graft charges, Al Masry Al Youm reports. The list of signatories includes ex-foreign minister Amr Moussa, former National Council of Women chief Moushira Khattab, NASA scientist Farouk El Baz, and scores of other former and current politicians, writers, and intellectuals. Serageldin, who is being accused by his former staff of squandering some EGP 20 mn in library funds, had denied the charges, saying he would appeal the verdict. The Associated Press has taken the story global.

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