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Egyptian court orders seizure of assets of Morsi, 88 Muslim Brotherhood members

Monday, 18 January 2021 6:47 AM [ Last Update: Monday, 18 January 2021 8:23 AM ]

People hold pictures of former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi during a symbolic funeral ceremony on June 18 in Istanbul. (Photo by AFP)

An Egyptian court has ordered the confiscation of assets belonging to 89 leaders and members of the Muslim Brotherhood, including former president Mohamed Morsi.

“The Court for Urgent Matters... ordered the seizure of the assets of 89 leaders and members of the [Muslim] Brotherhood, and their transfer to the treasury,” AFP quoted an Egyptian judicial source as saying on condition of anonymity.

The order, issued on Sunday, also targets the Muslim Brotherhood’s supreme guide Mohamed Badie, his deputy Khairat al-Shater, and former legislator Mohamed Beltagy, all of whom are in prison.

Back in 2012, Morsi became Egypt’s first democratically-elected president. He assumed office a year after Hosni Mubarak was ousted in a popular uprising.

However, a military coup led by Egypt’s former defense minister and current President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi ended Morsi’s presidency in July 2013 and led to his imprisonment.

Morsi died in June 2019 after appearing in court in the capital Cairo, after six years in prison.

Morsi knew West would never allow Muslim Brotherhood to rule Egypt, family says

Morsi’s family says the deposed president knew he would not be allowed to complete his term and that the West would never allow Muslim Brotherhood to rule Egypt.

The seizure applies to assets inherited by Morsi’s family, said the source, who did not specify the value of the assets.

Since 2013, when the Muslim Brotherhood was blacklisted as a “terrorist organization”, Egypt has launched a crackdown against thousands of its members and supporters and executed dozens of others.

Essam el-Erian, another senior leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, also died in jail while serving multiple sentences. Erian reportedly died of a heart attack in August, 2020.

Egypt police arrest 382 people protesting against President Sisi: Rights group

Anti-government protesters have braved a heavy-handed crackdown by the police in the past few days.

In late September 2020, at least 382 people were arrested in Egypt following demonstrations against Sisi’s government, which took place in Cairo as well as governorates of Giza, Damietta on the Nile Delta and Luxor in the south.

Since Sisi became president, Egypt has declared all demonstrations unauthorized.

In August 2013, pro-Morsi protests were brutally crushed in what became known as the Rabaa massacre, during which over 800 civilians were killed.

International rights groups have repeatedly condemned Egyptian officials for failing to prosecute those involved in the Rabaa massacre.

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