Egypt judges recommend dissolving the Muslim Brotherhood
The court will examine the recommendations in a hearing on February 15.
A poster of ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi is pictured on barbed wires during a protest by his supporters at El-Thadiya presidential palace in Cairo November 15, 2013. PHOTO: REUTERS
CAIRO:
A panel of Egyptian judges has recommended the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party be dissolved, ahead of a court decision that could further drive the radicals underground, state media reported Saturday.
The panel made its non-binding recommendations to the administrative court, which is deliberating a law suit to ban the party for its affiliation with the Brotherhood and contravening laws on the formation of religious parties.
The court will examine the recommendations in a hearing on February 15, the official MENA news agency reported.
The party, headed by Mohamed Morsi before his election in June 2012, has been decimated in a crackdown following the president's overthrow last July.
More than 2,000 radicals including party operatives have been arrested since an August 14 crackdown on protesters that killed hundreds.
The findings of such panels-appointed by courts to study lawsuits and make their recommendations-are often adopted.
A separate court had already issued a temporary ban on the Brotherhood and ordered its assets seized ahead of a final verdict.
Much of the Brotherhood's leadership, including Morsi, is already in prison and on trial for allegedly inciting violence after his ouster, following massive protests demanding his resignation.
The Freedom and Justice Party swept Egypt's last legislative elections in 2011 and 2012, before a court ruling scrapped parliament.
Brotherhood offers talks to 'exit' post-Morsi crisis
Meanwhile, the coalition led by the Muslim Brotherhood on Saturday offered negotiations to end the deadly tumult since Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi's overthrow, without explicitly insisting on his reinstatement.
The coalition "calls on all revolutionary forces and political parties and patriotic figures to enter a deep dialogue on exiting the current crisis," it said in a statement.
The coalition, which has organised weekly protests despite a harsh police crackdown, insisted in its statement on keeping up "peaceful opposition" but said it wanted a "consensus for the public good of the country."
The proposal is the party's most flexible statement yet made in public, and comes "with no conditions," a coalition official said.
"We have no conditions, and neither should they," Imam Youssef, a leader of the Asala party,part of the coalition, told AFP.
But he added the talks must lead to a "democratic" solution, and the coalition wanted them to start within two weeks.
A panel of Egyptian judges has recommended the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party be dissolved, ahead of a court decision that could further drive the radicals underground, state media reported Saturday.
The panel made its non-binding recommendations to the administrative court, which is deliberating a law suit to ban the party for its affiliation with the Brotherhood and contravening laws on the formation of religious parties.
The court will examine the recommendations in a hearing on February 15, the official MENA news agency reported.
The party, headed by Mohamed Morsi before his election in June 2012, has been decimated in a crackdown following the president's overthrow last July.
More than 2,000 radicals including party operatives have been arrested since an August 14 crackdown on protesters that killed hundreds.
The findings of such panels-appointed by courts to study lawsuits and make their recommendations-are often adopted.
A separate court had already issued a temporary ban on the Brotherhood and ordered its assets seized ahead of a final verdict.
Much of the Brotherhood's leadership, including Morsi, is already in prison and on trial for allegedly inciting violence after his ouster, following massive protests demanding his resignation.
The Freedom and Justice Party swept Egypt's last legislative elections in 2011 and 2012, before a court ruling scrapped parliament.
Brotherhood offers talks to 'exit' post-Morsi crisis
Meanwhile, the coalition led by the Muslim Brotherhood on Saturday offered negotiations to end the deadly tumult since Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi's overthrow, without explicitly insisting on his reinstatement.
The coalition "calls on all revolutionary forces and political parties and patriotic figures to enter a deep dialogue on exiting the current crisis," it said in a statement.
The coalition, which has organised weekly protests despite a harsh police crackdown, insisted in its statement on keeping up "peaceful opposition" but said it wanted a "consensus for the public good of the country."
The proposal is the party's most flexible statement yet made in public, and comes "with no conditions," a coalition official said.
"We have no conditions, and neither should they," Imam Youssef, a leader of the Asala party,part of the coalition, told AFP.
But he added the talks must lead to a "democratic" solution, and the coalition wanted them to start within two weeks.