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Africa North

Cairo court places Abdel-Moneim Abul-Fotouh, Alaa Abdel-Fattah on terrorism list

2020-11-24

[AlAhram] The court order comes following a request by State Security prosecutors made in connection with a 2019 terrorism-related case. A Cairo criminal court has placed former 2012 presidential candidate Abdel-Moneim Abul-Fotouh and activist and blogger Alaa Abdel-Fattah on the state’s terror list for a five-year period, along with 26 other people. The court order comes following a request by State Security prosecutors made in connection with a 2019 terrorism-related case. The court said the decision was issued in accordance with the country’s anti-terrorism law. The list includes El-Hassan Khairat El-Shater, who is the son of the Moslem Brüderbund’s Deputy Supreme Guide Khairat El-Shater. Under the anti-terrorism law, which has been in effect since 2015, any person placed on the terror list is subject to a travel ban and having their assets frozen. Abul-Fotouh was arrested in February 2018 after he returned from London, where he had given interviews critical of the government. Shortly after his arrest, Abul-Fotouh was placed on the terrorism list for alleged ties with the Brotherhood before his appeal against the designation decision was accepted earlier this year. Abul-Fotouh, who leads the centrist Strong Egypt party, is a former member of the Brotherhood. He defected from the group in 2011 and has for years distanced himself from it. He ran for president in 2012. Blogger Abdel-Fattah was arrested in September 2019, six months after he was released after serving a five-year sentence for protesting without a permit in violation of a 2013 law.

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Africa North

Egypt's court upholds life sentences for top Brotherhood leader Badie

2020-07-15

[Al Ahram] Egypt’s top appeals court upheld on Tuesday life sentences against the leader of the now-banned Moslem Brüderbund group Mohammed Badie and others over violence in Upper Egypt’s Minya that followed the ouster of late Islamist President Mohammed Morsi in 2013. The Court of Cassation rejected appeals filed by186 defendants, including Badie, against their prison terms, and acquitted 63 others, a judicial source said, without specifying how many received final life sentences. In September 2018, a Minya criminal court sentenced Badie and 87 others to life imprisonment over festivities in the southern governorate. The court also handed over 200 other defendants jail terms ranging from two to 15 years and acquitted 463 others in the same case. The mass trial dates back to violence in August 2013 that followed the dispersal of a sit-in by supporters of ousted president Morsi, which left hundreds of Brotherhood members and dozens of police dead. The defendants were convicted of charges including assaulting a cop shoppe in Minya, killing several coppers and the attempted murder of others. The verdicts are final and cannot be appealed. Tuesday's sentences are the latest in a series of trials and re-trials against Badie, the Brotherhood’s Supreme Guide, and other big shots of the Islamist group that ruled Egypt before Islamist president Mohammed Morsi was ousted following massive protests. It is the fifth final life sentence handed to Badie, totaling 125 years. It comes days after the same court upheld life sentences for Badie, his deputy Khairat El-Shater and four others over violence in front of the group’s main headquarters in Cairo ahead of Morsi's ouster. That verdict was the first final ruling against El-Shater, who had been handed a total of another 40 years in jail that can still be appealed.

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Africa North

Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated businessman Malek sentenced to 25 years in prison

2019-05-01

And now he and his comrades can look forward to sitting in prison for years, while mandatory appeals wind their way through the system. [AlAhram] A Cairo High State Security Emergency Criminal Court sentenced Hassan Malek, a businessman affiliated with the banned Moslem Brüderbund group, to 25 years in prison on Tuesday. Malek, his son Hamza, and 22 others were accused of joining a terrorist group and plotting to harm the national economy by hoarding hard currency and smuggling it abroad. They were also charged with planning to assault police and army personnel. Malik, Hamza, and five others were sentenced to 25 years, three defendants were sentenced to 10 years, and 14 were acquitted. Malek’s assets have been frozen since September 2014, when a Cairo criminal court upheld a decision by the prosecutor-general to freeze the assets of prominent Moslem Brüderbund leaders. Since the 1990s, Malek has been considered one of the most prominent Moslem Brüderbund businessmen along with his business partner, the now-tossed in the clink Into the paddy wagon wit' yez! deputy chairman of the Brotherhood in Egypt, Khairat El-Shater. Malek’s commercial and industrial ventures included textile manufacturing, electrical supplies, and furniture.

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Africa North

Brotherhood businessman Malek referred to state security emergency court for attempting to topple regime

2017-11-05

[AlAhram] Egypt's top prosecutor Nabil Sadek has referred Moslem Brüderbund businessman Hassan Malek and his son to an emergency state security court on charges from 2015 including belonging to and financing the now-banned group, the prosecutor’s office said on Wednesday. Twenty-two other co-defendants, including Abdel-Rahman Saudi, also a well-known businessman and member of the banned group, were referred to the High State Security Emergency Criminal Court on the same charges, which also include attempting to topple the regime, assaulting police and army personnel and harming the national economy. The defendants in the case include 13 individuals who are on the lam. The prosecution said that Brotherhood material detailing plots to harm the national economy were found at Malek's house. Malek has been placed in durance vile Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'! since he was incarcerated Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'! in October 2015 pending investigations into charges of collecting foreign currency from the Egyptian market and smuggling it abroad with the aim of harming the national economy. His assets have been frozen since September 2014. Last week, Malek completed the maximum period of two years allowed by Egyptian law for detention with trial. Prosecutors can refer criminal cases to an emergency court in light of the current state of emergency imposed in the country. Last month, President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi issued a decree extending the six-month-old state of emergency for another three months. Egypt first imposed the state of emergency in April after two church bombings killed at least 45 people. Since the 1990s, Malek has been considered one of the most prominent businessmen affiliated with the Moslem Brüderbund, along with his business partner and former deputy chairman of the group Khairat El-Shater, who is currently serving jail time for various convictions. Malek’s commercial and industrial ventures include textile manufacturing, electrical supplies and furniture. The Moslem Brüderbund was designated a terrorist organization by the Egyptian government in November 2013.

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Africa North

3 judges, driver killed in gun attack in Egypt's North Sinai

2015-05-17

[AlAhram] Three Egyptian judges and their driver were killed on Saturday when gunnies opened fire on their vehicle in the North Sinai city of Arish, sources told Al-Ahram Arabic news website. A fourth judge in the microbus was severely maimed. The judges were on their way from the city of Ismailia on the Suez Canal to attend court sessions in Arish when gunnies in three cars attacked the judges' microbus. The attack comes hours after a Cairo court issued a preliminary death sentence against former president Mohammed Morsi and 105 other defendants on a range of charges, including murder. In a separate case also on Saturday, the court issued a preliminary death sentence against leading Moslem Brüderbund figures Mohammed El-Beltagy and Khairat El-Shater, as well as 14 others, on charges of conspiring with foreign groups to destabilise Egypt. Islamist hard boys, who have primarily targeted security forces since the Islamist's removal, have also attacked several judges in the past two years. On Sunday, three improvised bombs went kaboom! near the home of judge Moataz Khafagi who had given out death sentences and lengthy jail terms to Islamist defendants. The blast damaged the building's facade and broke the windows of three cars. The judge escaped the kaboom unharmed but four other people were maimed. In March, a small bomb was left in front of the house of judge Fathi Bayoumi, who investigated the corruption charges against Mubarak-era interior minister Habib El-Adly. The words "a gift for El-Adly's acquittal" were ascribed on a wall near the device. In January, a kaboom targeting judge Khaled Mahgoub, who is acting for the general prosecution in one of the trials brought against Morsi over the jailbreak charges, caused damage to the windows and walls of his house. In a statement, Egypt's presidency offered condolences to the families of the victims, expressing faith that such incidents "will not deter Egypt's honourable judges from their noble mission."

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Africa North

Egypt to seize 66 'Muslim Brotherhood' companies

2014-07-18

[Al Ahram] The funds of 66 companies reportedly affiliated with the Moslem Brüderbund are to be seized by the Egyptian government, a committee tasked with appraising and freezing the funds of the banned ...the word banned seems to have a different meaning in Pakistain than it does in most other places. Or maybe it simply lacks any meaning at all... organization decided on Thursday. The committee will inventory the companies Al-Farida, Sirar, Istikbal, Al-Ezz for trade and Malek for trade and clothing with the aim of taking hold of their respective managements. Istikbal, Sirar and Malek for trade and clothing were owned by Brotherhood member Hassam Malek, a prominent Egyptian businessman long suspected of financing the organization and whose assets were frozen prior to the 2011 Egyptian revolution. In 1992, Malek and fellow Brotherhood member and businessman Khairat El-Shater were prosecuted on charges of embezzlement through a joint IT venture called Salsabil and imprisoned for a year pending investigation. Once cleared of charges, Malek branched into the furniture industry, establishing two Egypt-based companies that rely on imports from Turkey: Istikbal and Sirar. The government crackdown on Brotherhood members and their activities started last year following the ouster of president Mohammed Morsi, who hailed from the group. The committee has thus far frozen the funds and taken control of over a thousand NGOs and nearly 100 schools allegedly affiliated with the group as well as seized the assets of over 700 Brotherhood leaders. In June, the government seized two of Cairo's most prominent supermarkets — Seoudi and Zad — on claims that they were funded by Brotherhood figures. The government has since relinquished its hold on 60 percent of Zad's stores and two Seoudi branches.

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Africa North

Leading Brotherhood figures referred on charges of financing 'terrorist' organisation

2014-07-11

[Al Ahram] A governmental committee tasked with appraising the monetary assets of the Moslem Brüderbund filed a legal suit to the general prosecutor on Thursday against 737 members of the Brotherhood on charges of financing a terrorist organization. The head of the committee, Ezzat Khamis, told Rooters affiliated Aswat Masriya that he has provided the prosecutor with legal papers showing the involvement of leading members Khairat El-Shater, Mohammed El-Beltagy, Essam El-Erian and the Supreme Guide Mohammed Badie in funding the organization. Prosecutors will investigate the suit according to article 86 of the Egyptian penal code, which defines terrorism and the penalties for engaging in it. The committee met Egypt's Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehlab on Tuesday to discuss its latest decisions concerning Brotherhood assets. During the meeting, the panel said that it has seized the funds of 737 Brotherhood leaders in addition to placing the management of 1,050 NGOs and some 81 schools believed to be affiliated with the group into a government trusteeship.

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Africa North

Egypt seizes Bröderbünd leaders’ assets

2014-01-01

Egypt’s interim government has ordered the assets of more than 500 Muslim Brotherhood and Islamist leaders seized — including those of the country’s ousted president — as part of an ever-tightening crackdown on the group, senior judicial and security officials said Tuesday. Abdel-Azzem El Ashri, a Justice Ministry spokesman, said that a ministerial inventory committee ordered the “movable and immovable properties” of 572 Muslim Brotherhood leaders seized. Another Justice Ministry official said leaders on the list included toppled President Mohammed Mursi and his family, as well as provincial Brotherhood leaders and members of its General Guidance Bureau, which is the group’s executive body. A security official said the list also included female Muslim Brotherhood members like Azza El Garf and wife of leader Khairat El Shater and his daughter. He said other Islamist leaders include Assem Abdel-Maged, the leader of Gamaa Islamiyah, which waged an anti-government insurgency in 1990s against autocrat Hosni Mubarak. The two officials said that the list includes those indicted in cases of inciting violence and those are under investigation or could be investigated. The order is part of a wider state crackdown on the Brotherhood, first banned by a court order in September and declared a “terrorist” organisation by the military-backed interim government last week. The court order allowed the government to form the committee that inventoried of the group’s finances and ordered its confiscation. The government made the “terrorist” designation by linking it to a wave of recent militant attacks targeting security forces without publicly presenting any evidence backing its claim. The move signaled a new era of zero tolerance of the group and ended any reconciliation efforts.

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Africa North

Top Brotherhood figure arrested in Sinai

2013-11-23

[Al Ahram] Egyptian security forces incarcerated Drop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un! a senior Moslem Brüderbund figure in Sinai on Thursday night, reported Rooters website Aswat Masriya. Brotherhood Guidance Bureau member Ezzat Abdel-Hamid Gharib was arrested in the North Sinai city of Sheikh Zuweid -- the site of numerous armed attacks against security forces since the ouster of Islamist president Mohammed Morsi ...the former president of Egypt. A proponent of the One Man, One Vote, One Time principle, Morsi won election after the deposal of Hosni Mubarak and jumped to the conclusion it was his turn to be dictator... in July -- and flown to Cairo for investigation. Security forces have been combing local areas since Wednesday when a bus carrying off-duty soldiers was hit by a bomb-laden car. Eleven soldiers were killed and another 37 injured in the incident near Rafah city, also in North Sinai. Twenty-nine suspects have been rounded up by authorities and are currently being investigated for links to the attack. Most high profile Brotherhood members have been arrested since Morsi was removed by the army after mass protests against him, including Supreme Guide Mohammed Badie and his deputy Khairat El-Shater. Most now face charges related to incitement to violence.

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Africa North

Judges withdraw from trial of Brotherhood figures

2013-10-30

[Al Ahram] The judges presiding in an ongoing trial of Moslem Brüderbund spiritual leader Mohammed Badie and co-defendants on charges of incitement of murder have withdrawn from the case. The three judges from the South Cairo Criminal Court cited a conflict of interest as their reason for stepping down, without giving further details. "Please don't hurt us!" Supreme Guide Mohammed Badie and his deputies Khairat El-Shater and Rashad Bayoumi are accused of inciting the murder of protesters at the Brotherhood guidance office headquarters in Cairo during festivities which took place on 30 June. Nine protesters were killed and other 91 protesters were maimed when fights broke out after anti-Brotherhood protesters stormed the building. The South Cairo prosecution has referred six defendants to the criminal court for trial on the charges. The defendents include Mostafa Abdel-Azim, Mohammed Abdel-Azim and Atef Abdel-Galil.

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Africa North

Top Brotherhood members slapped with espionage charges

2013-10-22

[Al Ahram] Egypt's State Security Prosecution ordered the detention of Moslem Brüderbund leaders Khairat El-Shater and Saad El-Katatni for 15 days on charges of espionage in coordination with Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason,, the Moslem Brüderbund's Paleostinian offshoot. Ousted Islamist president Mohammed Morsi ...the former president of Egypt. A proponent of the One Man, One Vote, One Time principle, Morsi won election after the deposal of Hosni Mubarak and jumped to the conclusion it was his turn to be dictator... -- a Moslem Brüderbund leader himself before being elected president in 2012 -- is under investigation on suspicion of collaborating with Hamas to orchestrate his escape from Wadi El-Natroun Prison in early 2011. He also faces accusations of destroying police records during the 2011 uprising. El-Shater and El-Katatni, who were tossed in the slammer Keep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please! following Morsi's ouster, are also accused of inciting violence against anti-Morsi protesters in Giza on 3 July, the night of Morsi's ouster, and ofa inciting deadly violence at festivities outside the Moslem Brüderbund's headquarters in the Cairo district of Mokattam on 30 June. Security forces have arrested dozens of the Islamist group's top members since Morsi's removal from power, many of whom face charges of inciting violence during Morsi's time in office and after his ouster.

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Africa North

Muslim Brotherhood supreme guide investigated for new charge

2013-10-22

[Al Ahram] Egypt's General Prosecution has ordered the detention of Moslem Brüderbund Supreme Guide Mohammed Badie for 15 days, pending investigations into his role during festivities between supporters of ousted president Mohammed Morsi ...the former president of Egypt. A proponent of the One Man, One Vote, One Time principle, Morsi won election after the deposal of Hosni Mubarak and jumped to the conclusion it was his turn to be dictator... and the police last July. The July Nasr City festivities occurred as pro-Morsi protesters attempted to extend a sit-in in the nearby Rabaa Al-Adawiya square to Cairo's main flyover 6 October Bridge. The violence left tens of protesters dead, according to the health ministry. Badie, along with several other Moslem Brüderbund leaders including deputy Khairat El-Shater, is also on trial for inciting the killing of protesters in festivities at the group's Cairo headquarters. The leaders face another charge of inciting violence in Giza's Al-Bahr Al-Azam on 15 July, when five were killed nearby Cairo University during fire-fights between pro-Morsi protesters and unknown assailants .

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