The Akhwan Al Muslimeen, which went through a difficult period under former Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak, also faces special conditions under Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, with the Supreme Leader and nine other members of the group sentenced to life in prison in recent days that could be the beginning of new protests.
Al-Sisi’s government has called the Akhwan Al Muslimeen a terrorist since the coup against the Mohamed Morsi’s government in 2013, and since then, the court has sentenced most of its leaders and some Akhwan Al Muslimeen members to death and others to life imprisonment or long prison terms.
An Egyptian court of appeals on Sunday evening upheld the Egyptian Muslim Akhwan Al Muslimeen leader Mohammed Badie and nine other senior members of the group sentenced to life in prison (25 years in prison) on charges of “attacking the country’s eastern borders.” He also acquitted eight senior members of the group who had previously been convicted.
According to the Egyptian website Al-Youm, the verdicts were issued in connection with the so-called “Al-Adwa incidents” that took place on August 14, 2013. Akhwan Al Muslimeen members are accused of attacking and setting fire to the Al-Adwa city police station.
On June 15, the court upheld the death sentences of 12 Akhwan Al Muslimeen leaders.
The Egyptian prosecutor claims that the defendants in this case coordinated with the political bureau of Hamas and Hezbollah in Lebanon in order to create unrest in Egypt and to overthrow the government (Al-Sisi) and its institutions.
The 12 were also accused of organizing sit-ins in Rabia Adawiya Square and rallies in support of former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi.
So far, other sentences have been handed down against Mohammed Badie, including in Suez, al-Istiqamah, Qalib, assault on prisoners, and insulting the Egyptian judiciary, most of which have been life sentences.
With the coup d’etat of the Egyptian army led by Abdel Fattah al-Sisi against the elected government of Mohamed Morsi on June 3, 2013 (June 13, 2013), all the leaders of the Akhwan Al Muslimeen and Morsi himself were arrested and sent to prison; Since then, Egyptian courts have repeatedly sentenced Akhwan Al Muslimeen leaders to life in prison and decades in prison.
Egyptian sources have stated that the Egyptian parliament’s resolution is in clear contradiction with the country’s constitution, which stipulates that citizens should not be discriminated against on the basis of political affiliation or any other reason.
Egypt has been grappling with many problems, including economic ones, for years, with the World Bank announcing in April 2019 that 60 percent of Egypt’s 100 million people are poor or at risk of poverty. This situation has led the Cairo government to reduce its staff and intends to lay off the pro-Akhwan Al Muslimeen staff, which is reported to number about 2 million, which, if realized, due to the poor economic conditions of the Egyptian people.