SUMMARY: A Cairo court has banned the Muslim Brotherhood and its non-governmental organization, leaving the Islamist group with no legal status.
The Brotherhood, banned in 1954, has operated outside Egyptian law — even as its political party won the largest share of Parliamentary seats in 2012 and as it supported the Morsi Government — and its NGO was only officially registered in March 2013.
The court ruling on Monday froze the NGO’s funds and property. On September 2, Egypt’s State Commissioners Authority, a body that advises the government on legal issues, recommended the Brotherhood’s dissolution after the military-backed interim Government’s claims circulated of the Brotherhood’s links to armed militias.
Hundreds of Brotherhood members, including most of the senior leadership, have been detained since the July 3 coup that overthrew President Mohamed Morsi. Among those behind bars are the group’s Supreme Guide Mohamed Badie, Deputy Supreme Guide Khairat El-Shater, Secretary-General Ezzat Ibrahim, and the head of its Freedom and Justice Party, Mohamed El-Beltagy. and most of its high and mid-level leaders have been detained and face charges including incitement of violence against their opponents.
On September 17, Egyptian prosecutors froze the assets of several senior Brotherhood leaders and other prominent Islamists Mohamed Badie, deputy supreme guide Khairat El-Shater, secretary general Ezzat Ibrahim and senior member Mohamed El-Beltagy are among dozens of prominent Islamists targeted by authorities.
Egypt: Security Forces Renew Operations in Sinai
Egypt’s army and police forces renewed their attacks on insurgent positions in the northern Sinai Peninsula on Monday.
Eyewitnesses said the army launched air raids on the villages of Toma, al-Zaheer, and Moqataa in the Rafah and Sheikh Zuwayed area. Security forces also locked down villages on the border with Gaza, while border tunnels were destroyed and the Rafah border crossing was closed for a fourth straight day.
A security source said more than 350 insurgents have been arrested since the start of the operations more than two weeks ago. Troops were sent into the Sinai, killing at least 20 insurgents, after a surge in attacks on security forces since the July 3 coup. The security source said the operations will continue until terrorism has been completely eliminated from Sinai. (Featured Photo: Egyptian forces in Sinai, August 2012)
