Former presidential hopeful says Egypt is now 'republic of fear'

Former presidential candidate Abdel Moneim Abol Fotouh talks during an interview with Reuters, Cairo June 26, 2013. REUTERS/Stringer

CAIRO (Reuters) - A moderate Islamist who came fourth in Egypt's 2012 presidential election won by the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed Mursi, accused the army-backed authorities on Sunday of creating a "republic of fear".

Abdel Moneim Abol Fotouh, 62, one of the few Islamists left in public life after a crackdown on the Brotherhood and its Islamist allies after Mursi was ousted by the army, said Egypt was not on a path to democracy as the government says.