Egypt orders 18 Brotherhood members held on terror charges

CAIRO, Egypt – Egyptian prosecutors ordered at least 18 Muslim Brotherhood members held on accusations that they belonging to a terrorist group. The order comes a day after the government blacklisted the movement, state media reported on Thursday, December 26.

They include the son of a deputy leader of deposed president Mohamed Morsi’s movement, which the government declared yesterday a terrorist organisation, the official MENA news agency said.

Seven were detained for a renewable two-week period in the city of Alexandria and 11 in the Nile Delta town of Zagazig.

Police also arrested 16 suspected Muslim Brotherhood members for passing out leaflets in support of the group and “inciting to violence,” the agency reported.

The Brotherhood’s designation as a terrorist group means anyone taking part in these rallies could be sentenced to five years in prison, the interior ministry said.

Possessing their literature, or supporting them “verbally or in writing,” is punishable by up to five years in prison, a ministry statement said.

The Brotherhood still organises almost daily protests demanding Morsi’s return almost six months after the military overthrew him.

More than 1,000 people have been killed in street clashes and thousands imprisoned in a police crackdown on the movement. – Rappler.com