Egyptian Court Dissolves Muslim Brotherhood Party Wing
Ron B. Lopez & Cody Brooks | | Aug 11, 2014 10:54 AM EDT |
(Photo : REUTERS/Stringer) Ousted former Egyptian president Mohamed Mursi (2nd R) stands with other senior figures of the Muslim Brotherhood in a cage in a courthouse on the first day of his trial, in Cairo, November 4, 2013.
Members of the Muslim Brotherhood could no longer run for office after an Egyptian court dissolved its political wing Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) on Saturday.
The court decision was made after another court initially banned the Muslim Brotherhood itself in September last year, and was immediately declared as a terrorist group in December.
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The Supreme Administrative Court's ruling was based on the official request of the committee of the political parties' affairs to dissolve the party due to its "irregularities." The committee is responsible for granting licenses to newly-formed political parties in Egypt.
The decision to dismantle the political wing Freedom and Justice Party was driven by party leaders who had been convicted of murder and inciting violence. They also stored weapons in party offices and its headquarters.
According to the ruling, members of the Brotherhood can no longer participate in the election, which is expected to be held late this year.
The Egyptian government declared the Muslim Brotherhood to be a terrorist group last year and began cracking down on its activities after president Mohamed Morsi, a member of the Brotherhood, was ousted in a military coup amidst widespread protests against him.
There is no option to appeal.
The Freedom and Justice Party's lawyer, Mahmoud Abou al-Aynayn, told Reuters that he believes the ruling was politically motivated to suppress groups that may disagree with the military government.
"I expect other parties to be dissolved too," al-Aynayn told Reuters.
He said the legal reasoning is unjustified and was made to dissolve every political party in Egypt.
The decision, as expected by critics, also ordered the movement's assets to be seized by the government, which is now being run by former army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who overthrew elected president and Brotherhood leader Mohamed Mursi in 2013.
The decision is final and cannot be appealed, Reuters reported, quoting a judicial insider.
The crackdown on the Egypt's oldest Islamist movement has intensified this year after Sisi won the presidential election. It has put thousands of Muslim Brotherhood members and leaders behind bars, while hundreds have been killed with about 700 deaths on charges of inciting violence.
The FJP, which was established in June 2011 following the removal of Hosni Mubarak, who ruled Egypt for 30 years, easily won several positions in the government, including the presidency. But protests against Mursi were staged after many Egyptians went exasperated with his political decisions and mismanagement of the economy.
The Muslim Brotherhood was officially dissolved in October by Egypt's Ministry of Social Solidarity, however the court ruling did not cover the Freedom and Justice Party.
Previous chief of the Egyptian Armed Forces Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who led the overthrow of the Muslim Brotherhood government and is now president, and said he will eradicate the Muslim Brotherhood during his term.
Ousted president Mohamed Morsi is currently detained in jail and facing charges such as conspiring with foreign groups to destabilize Egypt.
Those loyal to the Muslim Brotherhood still protest against the government.
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