Implications of Brotherhood ban verdict uncertain
Experts disagree on legal ramifications of Monday's verdict banning all activities of Egypt's 85-year-old Islamist group
Ahram Online, Monday 23 Sep 2013
Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Badie talks during an interview with Reuters in Cairo, in this February 7, 2012 (Photo: Reuters)
The verdict was not released by a court with the jurisdiction to make such a judgement, Tosson, who is secretary-general of the lawyers’ syndicate, told Al-Ahram Arabic news website.
The court that made the verdict is the court of urgent matters. Tosson said that in order for the verdict to be enforceable, it must be announced by the administrative court.
Senior Brotherhood figure Mohamed Ali Bishr had announced that the group will appeal the verdict, which banned "all activities of the group and any organisation derived from it."
The court also ordered the interim government to seize the group's funds and establish a panel to administer its frozen assets until any appeal is heard.
However, Tosson said that the verdict cannot include the group's Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), arguing that legal affairs related to the party follow a different legal track than that of the group.
Conversely, constitutional law expert Yasser El-Hodaiby asserted in a separate statement to Al-Ahram Arabic that any verdict issued by the court of urgent matters is enforceable even if it is followed by appeals.
Tosson, however, argues that the possibility of appeals is another reason the verdict is not enforceable, adding that the group's funds and property cannot yet be confiscated.
Most non-Islamist political forces and groups welcomed Monday’s court verdict, which comes nearly three months after the ouster of the Brotherhood’s Mohamed Morsi from the presidency.
"This verdict came very late," said spokesman for the Free Front for Peaceful Change, Essam El-Sherif. "The Brotherhood, after rising to power, became a threat to national security and a danger to society."
The 85-year-old group existed without legal standing for decades and was only officially registered as an NGO in March 2013.
Monday’s verdict is not the only challenge to the Islamist group's existence.
On 2 September, Egypt's State Commissioners Authority, a body that advises the government on legal issues, recommended the Brotherhood's dissolution after claims circulated of its links to armed militias.
The authority’s recommendations - which are non-binding - were made in accordance with Law 84 of 2002, which prohibits non-governmental organisations and institutions from forming paramilitary wings.
Egyptian authorities launched a crackdown against the Brotherhood following the ouster of president Mohamed Morsi, who hails from the group, in July.
The group's Supreme Guide, Mohamed Badie, Deputy Supreme Guide Khairat El-Shater, and senior member Mohamed El-Beltagy are among dozens of high and mid-level Brotherhood leaders who have been detained on charges of inciting violence.
Egyptian prosecutors froze the assets of several senior Brotherhood leaders and other prominent Islamists in July as part of investigations into the incitement of violence at protests.
New anti-military, anti-Brotherhood front to be launched Tuesday
Revolution Path Front, bringing together well-known revolutionaries, activists and writers, will work towards continuing Egypt's 2011 revolution
Ahram Online, Monday 23 Sep 2013
According to a statement posted on the front's Facebook page, a press conference is planned to take place Tuesday at 12pm at the Syndicate of Commercial Professionals in Cairo.
On its Facebook page, the front announced its aim fight for the "redistribution of wealth among poor and low-income Egyptians."
Among the expected participants at the Tuesday press conference where the group will be announced are prominent journalists Wael Gamal and Khaled El-Balshi, political activist Alaa Abdel-Fatah, leftist labour lawyer Haytham Mohamadein, renowned writer Ahdaf Soueif, and April 6 Youth Movement co-founder Ahmed Maher.
The front presents itself as an alternative group that will fight against "military oppression" as well as "the Muslim Brotherhood's violence and sectarianism" and seek the "restoration of the January 25 revolution."
Egypt’s military led a coalition of political forces in removing the Brotherhood's Mohamed Morsi from the presidency in July, after mass national protests against the former elected president.
Hatem Tallima, the spokesperson for the new group, told Ahram Online that he is "optimistic" that the movement will "embody the collective voice" of those supporting these ideas.
"However, I know that [the number of] people that believe in our principles is limited for now," he said.
Tallima said that some revolutionaries had sacrificed a rejection of the "authoritarian state" because of their hatred for the Muslim Brotherhood.
"The appointment of 17 governors with military backgrounds, the reinstatement of Mubarak-affiliated figures in some state institutions, and the way by which the constitution-drafting committees were formed give an indication that Egypt is not moving towards the correct revolutionary path," he concluded.
http://rt.com/news/egypt-court-muslim-brotherhood-235/
An Egyptian court has banned all activities of the Muslim Brotherhood in the country. Its assets will also be confiscated according to the court ruling.
"The court bans the activities of the Muslim Brotherhood organization and its non-governmental organization and all the activities that it participates in and any organization derived from it," said the presiding judge Mohammed Sayed.
The Cairo Court for Urgent Matters also ordered the "confiscation of all the group's money, assets, and buildings".
The Cabinet has ordered the formation of an independent committee to manage the money until final court orders are issued.
"This is totalitarian decision," leading group member Ibrahim Moneir told Al-Jazeera Mubashir Misr TV."You are losers and it (the Brotherhood) will remain with God's help, not by the orders of the judiciary of Sisi," he added, referring to the commander-in-chief of the Egyptian Armed Forces, who led the military-backed ouster of former president Mohamed Morsi.
The Brotherhood has been outlawed for most of its 85-year existence. It has been in its worst crisis since a similar attempt to suppress it in the 1950s.
However, after the ouster of former long ruling President Hosni Mubarak, it formed a political party and organized post-Mubarak elections.
In June 2012, the Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohamed Morsi won the presidential elections. However, on July 3 of this year the army overthrew Morsi after he rejected the military's ultimatum to reach an agreement with Egypt's opposition. The constitution was also suspended.
The crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood started shortly after the army announced a power take-over, with arrest warrants for hundreds of Brotherhood officials being issued.
In March 2013, the Muslim Brotherhood registered as a recognized non-governmental organization in response to opponents who disputed its legal status in court.
After suspension of the Islamists’ constitution, Cairo’s administrative court and the Ministry of Social Solidarity were ordered to review the Brotherhood's legal status.
Earlier in September, an Egyptian judicial panel recommended the legal dissolution of the Muslim Brotherhood as an officially registered non-governmental organization.
The court decision, which can be appealed, is likely to drive more Brotherhood members underground and encourage young Islamists to rebel against the state.
A spokesperson for the British Egyptians for Democracy activist group, Alaa Mohamed, says the court’s decision is “unsurprising” and is politically motivated. This, she said, is just the start of a “a witch hunt”pursued against those who oppose the military coup.
“This is what all military coups do – as soon as they take power they go after every single political party that was opposing them,” Mohamed told RT. “That’s what we have seen with the Muslim Brotherhood. And this is not about Muslim Brotherhood, this is about every single political, social party as well as individuals from all backgrounds that oppose the military coup.”
“This is what all military coups do – as soon as they take power they go after every single political party that was opposing them,” Mohamed told RT. “That’s what we have seen with the Muslim Brotherhood. And this is not about Muslim Brotherhood, this is about every single political, social party as well as individuals from all backgrounds that oppose the military coup.”
Egypt Bans Muslim Brotherhood Group
An Egyptian court has banned the Muslim Brotherhood group and ordered its assets confiscated in a dramatic escalation of a crackdown by the military-backed government against supporters of the ousted Islamist president Mohammed Morsi.
Egypt state TV said the court issued its ruling on Monday.
The Brotherhood was outlawed for most of its 85 years in existence. But after the 2011 ouster of autocrat Hosni Mubarak, it was allowed to work openly, formed a political party and rose to power in a string of post-Mubarak elections. In March, it registered as a recognized non-governmental organization.
The ruling, which can be appealed, opens door for authorities to track down the group's elaborate network of social services, dealing a deadly blow to its pillars of grass-root support.
Last Update: Sunday, 22 September 2013 KSA 12:18 - GMT 09:18
Egyptian Islamist tries to ‘set woman on fire’ over pro-army ringtone
Al Arabiya
An Egyptian Islamist allegedly attempted to set his colleague on fire, after he heard her mobile phone’s pro-army ringtone, the online edition of local newspaper al-Ahram reported on Saturday.
The man, described by the newspaper as a supporter of deposed Egyptian President Mohammad Mursi, reportedly backed the Muslim Brotherhood, which Mursi hails from.
The newspaper said the 23-year-old woman had told the police that her colleague started insulting her after he heard the ringtone. He then attempted to set her on fire by dousing her in petrol.
The suspect reportedly works in a pharmaceutical company and frequently got into big arguments with his coworker for using a ringtone praising the Egyptian army.
The song “Tislam al-Ayade” or “May God Reward the hands” gained massive popularity among Egyptians after the army, led by Egypt's army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, toppled Mursi on July 3, sparking a violent crackdown on Muslim Brotherhood supporters and officials.
In recent weeks, the Brotherhood’s anti-military protests have drawn fewer demonstrators.
Egyptian authorities arrest 28 people for Alexandria clashes
Egypt's state prosecution ordered on Monday the arrest of 28 people, supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood, in relation to clashes that erupted on Friday in different areas of Alexandria. Read More
Mursi supporters call for demonstrations outside UN offices
Sunday, September 22, 2013 8:09 PM
The National Alliance to Support Legitimacy, that supports ousted President Mohamed Mursi, will hold demonstrations on Tuesday by the United Nations headquarters under the slogan “the coup does not represent Egypt”.
The call for protests is in response to Egypt’s interim President Adli Mansour asking Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy to head a delegation at the 68’s general assembly of the UN this month.
The alliance said in a Facebook statement on Sunday that the call comes to express "the Egyptian people’s rejection of the coup and its institutions and committees."
Mursi’s supporters have been holding demonstrations since his ouster.
Egypt's army chief says will not run for presidency
Sunday, September 22, 2013 8:10 PM
Egypt’s army reaffirmed on Sunday that it does not intend to nominate a candidate for the next presidential election, its spokesman said.
The statement came in response to a campaign calling on Defense Minister Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to run for presidency.
Many Egyptians started to see Sisi as a hero after the army ousted Islamist President Mohamed Mursi and started a crackdown on his supporters and the group he belongs to, the Muslim Brotherhood.
Spokesman Ahmed Mohamed Aly told Al-Arabiya that the army’s stance on the subject is final and that it will not be part of Egypt's political life.
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