(AFP PHOTO/YASSER AL-ZAYYAT)
The Alexandria Court for Urgent Matters will issue the verdict in a lawsuit against Qatar as a state “supporter of terrorism” on 29 March, according to a Sunday statement by the Coalition to Support the Tahya Masr (Long Live Egypt) fund.
The coalition’s secretary general and legal advisor, Tariq Mahmoud, accused Qatar of “supporting terrorism” in the Arab world. Mahmoud said this was through “providing financial, logistical and media support for terrorist leaders in the Arab world”.
Mahmoud added that Qatar “hosts all terrorists” who have fled justice in Egypt and other countries.
He referred in court to Qatar-based satellite news network Al Jazeera, and accused it of “straightforward incitement” against the army and police.
The group recently filed a number of cases against Hamas, Turkey, the 6 April movement, and the National Alliance to Support Legitimacy, which supports former president Mohamed Morsi.
Mahmoud was previously the legal advisor to “the Popular Front against the Brotherhoodisation of Egypt”. This movement filed a lawsuit last year to criminalise the use of the Rabaa Al-Adaweya sign, referring to it as a sign of “violence”.
The lawsuit against Turkey was filed on 7 February, similarly calling to designate it as “terrorism supporting state”. Mahmoud accused Turkey of taking a “hostile position” against Egypt, as it became “a haven for the terrorist Muslim Brotherhood leaders”, under the leadership of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
The Alexandria Court for Urgent Matters will look into the case for the first time on 24 February.
Egypt’s relations with Qatar and Turkey have been tense since the ouster of Morsi in 2013. Turkey has expressed its opposition to Egypt’s current government on different occasions.
Saudi Arabia recently mediated reconciliation between Qatar and Egypt, despite persisting disagreements.
However, Qatar recalled its ambassador in Cairo last week in a dispute over Egyptian air strikes on “Islamic State” targets on Libyan territories, in response to the beheading of 20 Copts.
