Despite top leaders' arrests, Muslim Brotherhood officials says group is determined to return to power • Egyptian official tell Israel Hayom: New Brotherhood leader Ezzat more extreme than Badie • Mohamed ElBaradei faces "betrayal of trust" charges.
Supporters of ousted Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi hold posters as they march in Cairo on Monday | Photo credit: AP  |
Humiliated, dressed only in pajamas, Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Badie, 70, was brought before a Cairo court on Tuesday and charged with inciting the murder of protesters and security personnel. His remand was extended by 15 days as he awaits trial.
Earlier on Tuesday, Badie was detained at a hiding place in a residential apartment in Nasr City in northeast Cairo. The arrest was made after Egyptian security forces received credible and precise information on Badie's location.
The arrest of Badie and his deputy, as well as the ongoing detention of former Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi, means that all top Muslim Brotherhood leaders are now behind bars.
However, despite the Egyptian military's ironfisted move against the group's leaders, Muslim Brotherhood officials told Arab media outlets that the group's determination to return to power had not waned.
After Badie's arrest, the Muslim Brotherhood quickly appointed Mahmoud Ezzat, 60, as the group's new leader.
A senior Egyptian security official told Israel Hayom that Ezzat is known for his Islamic extremism and has spent time in jail for anti-government activities.
"In comparison to Ezzat, Badie has moderate positions," the official said. "We believe that Ezzat is in Yemen or Gaza and the fact that he's not in Egypt will make it easier for him to act and give orders from afar to movement activists without the fear that he's breaking the law."
Meanwhile, funerals were held on Tuesday for the 25 Egyptian border police officers who were executed by Islamic radicals in the Sinai Peninsula on Monday. Egyptian Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim, who received the coffins at a military airport in Cairo, said authorities know who was responsible for the attack and security forces were making great efforts to capture the perpetrators.
Also on Tuesday, Mohamed ElBaradei, who resigned from his role as Egypt's interim vice president last week and had since left the country for Vienna, was charged in an Egyptian court for "betrayal of trust." ElBaradei associates said the case against ElBaradei was political persecution meant to intimidate opponents of the Egyptian military.
Meanwhile, Egypt's Justice Ministry announced that a special court session would be held on Wednesday to consider a request by former President Hosni Mubarak's lawyer for Mubarak's release from jail. The chances of the request being granted are low, but the former Egyptian leader does have some chance of being freed.
Two Egyptian judicial officials said earlier this week that Mubarak could walk free this week or next after a criminal court ordered his release in the corruption case in which Mubarak and his two sons were accused of embezzling funds for the maintenance of presidential palaces. His sons were ordered kept in custody.
Monday's ruling, along with the fact that Mubarak had previously been ordered released in the killings of the protesters, have opened the possibility of freedom for the former president.
However, an Egyptian Foreign Ministry official told Israel Hayom that Mubarak's jail time had been extended this past Saturday for 15 days on a technicality. He also said that the ousting of Morsi did not mean the interim government intended to bring Egypt back to the Mubarak era. Instead, he said, the government wants to move forward.
"Releasing Mubarak could cause millions to take to the streets and drag Egypt again into chaos and instability," he said.
0 comments:
Post a Comment