Free Egyptians Party founder Naguib Sawiris and a member of the party's Board of Trustees filed a lawsuit against party chairman Essam Khalil to annul Sawiris' dismissal from the board.
The dismissal decision and previous decisions violate the regulations of the party, as well as the accountability mechanism of members of the Board of Trustees, Sawiris said in a statement on Tuesday.
"The party chairman and his group committed violations and took illegal decisions that clearly and plainly violated the party's fundamental regulations. I am confident the judiciary will return the right to those subjected to injustice," Sawiris added.
Business tycoon Sawiris was dismissed from the Free Egyptians party, which he founded, five days after he was referred to the party's disciplinary committee for investigations following a press conference he held with members of the Board of Trustees last Tuesday, the liberal political party announced on Tuesday.
As Egypt's second-richest man, with a net worth of US$3.8 billion according to Forbes, Sawiris founded the left-wing Free Egyptians party soon after the 2011 uprising that toppled longtime president Hosni Mubarak.
Sawiris, who runs a business empire across the Middle East, Africa and Europe, said he was fighting a takeover by the party chairman, whom he accuses of being a rubberstamp for the authorities.
Khalil said the committee summoned Sawiris for investigations into accusations that he insulted the Board of Trustees during the press conference. He did not attend the investigation on schedule, prompting the committee to take the decision to drop his membership.
In statements to Al-Masry Al-Youm, Khalil said Sawiris can file a complaint with the party's grievances committee within 15 days of his dismissal, and can then resort to the judiciary.
