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, according to a report from the Associated Press.
Egypt state television said the court issued its ruling on Monday.
The Muslim Brotherhood has been 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 report said.
Monday’s 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.
Egypt To Rewrite Constitution
According to Al-Jazeera, Egypt is likely to completely rewrite the constitution adopted under Morsi, a spokesman for the committee amending it said on Sunday, in a further push to reverse changes introduced under the deposed president.
“The 50-member committee, which includes two Islamists but no representative of the Muslim Brotherhood, was appointed by the interim government installed after the army overthrew Morsi in July following protests against his rule.
More than 2,000 Islamists, mostly from the Brotherhood, have been arrested in the past two months, including Morsi and most of the group’s other leaders. The government said the Brotherhood declined an offer to join the committee, Al-Jazeera reports.
The constitution, drafted by an Islamist-dominated assembly and approved in a referendum in December last year, was seen by Morsi’s opponents as failing to guarantee human and women’s rights and to reflect the nation’s diverse population.
