Top Muslim Brotherhood Leader Arrested In Egypt

Mohamed el-Beltagy A senior leader of the Muslim Brotherhood,
Mohamed el-Beltagy, has been arrested by the
Egyptian police, the latest arrest in a widening
campaign against the group. Beltagy, a former member of parliament and
head of the Brotherhood’s Freedom and
Justice Party, was arrested in Giza governorate,
just outside of the Egyptian capital, state
television reported on Thursday. Beltagy was wanted on accusations that he
incited violence and has been hunted by
authorities for nearly three weeks. In a videotaped message aired by Al Jazeera
earlier this week, he said that authorities were
trying to turn a “political crisis” into a security
problem by accusing his group of
orchestrating a terrorism campaign. “Don’t be fooled by these lies and deception
that aim to label us with terrorism, violence,
[and] killing … at a time when the hands of
the coup regime are drowned in blood,”
Beltagy said. He went into hiding earlier this month after
authorities violently broke up protest
encampments held by supporters of President
Mohamed Morsi, who was overthrown by the
military on July 3 after days of mass protests
against him. Hundreds died in the crackdown, including Beltagy’s daughter, Asmaa. Most of the Brotherhood’s top leadership has
been arrested in the nearly two months since
Morsi’s ouster. The group’s general guide, Mohamed el-
Badie, was arrested earlier this month. He is
facing criminal charges for inciting violence,
as is his deputy, Rashad al-Bayoumi; the
group’s top strategist, Khairat al-Shater; and
several other senior officials. Morsi himself has been held nearly
incommunicado since he was forced from
office. More than 60 other members of the
organisation have been detained over the past
few days, including relatives of senior leaders. The son of Khairat el-Shater, the
Brotherhood’s top strategist, was arrested this
week, as was Mohamed Soltan, a US citizen
who is the son of outspoken Brotherhood
leader Salah Soltan. The Muslim Brotherhood was banned for
decades under former president Hosni
Mubarak. It set up a political party following
the 2011 revolution, and moved to legalise its
status as a non-governmental organisation,
though members now fear Egypt’s new army- backed government will try to ban the group
once again. [AlJazeera]