Eurasia Press & News
A panel of Egyptian judges recommended Monday the dissolution of the Muslim Brotherhood, adding momentum to a push by authorities to ban the ousted president’s main backer and a pillar of political Islam in the region.
Since the military deposed Mohammed Morsi in a July 3 coup, it has steadily intensified a crackdown on the Brotherhood, Egypt’s largest political organization. Hundreds of its members are in detention and facing prosecution, many on charges of inciting violence.
Morsi himself has been held in an undisclosed location since his ouster. On Sunday, state prosecutors charged him with inciting the murder of his opponents. A date has yet to be set for the trial, in which 14 leading Brotherhood members are also charged.
In its recommendation to Egypt‘s administrative court, the panel of judges accused the Brotherhood of operating outside the law. It also recommended the closure of its Cairo headquarters.
The recommendation is nonbinding for the court, which holds its next hearing on Nov. 12.
Both state and private Egyptian media have adopted the interim government’s line on dealing with the Brotherhood since the coup, repeatedly describing the group’s actions and those of other Morsi supporters as acts of “terrorism.”
