Continuing its strategy to “terminate” elements of the Muslim Brotherhood group, the Egyptian state announced the killing of Mohamed Kamal in an alleged police raid on his residence Tuesday morning, after he was reportedly arrested Monday night.
Kamal was accompanied by a teacher named Yasser Shehata, who was also killed in the incident.
The prosecution will begin an investigation into the killings, ordering the autopsy of the two bodies. The officers participating in the raid will testify in the interrogation.
Amid suspicions of an extra-judicial killing, the Brotherhood accused the Ministry of Interior of “terminating” Kamal after arresting him.
The ministry released a statement publishing the details of the raid and mentioned crimes Kamal had allegedly committed, ranging from the assassination of former prosecutor general Hisham Barakat and Colonel Wael Tahon, the attempt to assassinate former Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa, as well as conspiring to assassinate several police and army officers.
“In the plan to abort cells of the terrorist Brotherhood organisation and to chase their fleeing leadership who are involved in executing violent and terrorist operations… [which aimed] to shake the stability of the homeland,” the statement began.
The ministry added that National Security concluded that a leading figure in the “military wing of the [Brotherhood] terrorist organisation” was hiding in a flat in the Basatin area in Cairo. The two were allegedly killed in an exchange of fire with the police forces.
Hours before the ministry released the statement, pro-police websites released breaking news and said that Kamal was arrested by the police in Basatin.
A source in the group told Daily News Egypt: “We received reports not just from the media, but from sources near to the family, that Kamal was arrested by the coup forces. He and the other martyr, Yasser Shehata, were executed without any resistance.”
“We hold the security forces fully responsible for their murder,” he added.
Similarly, the spokesperson of the group, Mohamed Montaser, said that all communications with Kamal had been cut.
In response, the Ministry of Interior denied Daily News Egypt’s claims that Kamal was arrested before the raid. When confronted with news reports that cited unknown security forces saying that Kamal was arrested, a representative from the ministry said that all “true facts are mentioned in the statements of the ministry”.
Kamal was one of the main figures of the now outlawed group following the 25 January revolution, as he became a member of the Guidance Bureau. Before 2011, he was also active in circles related to group affiliated hospitals, universities and charity organizations. However, after the deadly dispersal of the Rabaa Al-Adawaia, he remained on the run and was involved in reconciliation attempts between the fighting factions of the group.
He reportedly quit all activity in the group since last May and acted as one of the youth cadets who stood against the old guard in the organization.
However, according to the ministry he was in charge of “organization’s military factions,” adding that he was sentenced in two military trials and was wanted in others.
Meanwhile Yasser Shehata, a schoolteacher who lived in Assuit, was accused of several acts of violence and terrorism related cases, and was previously sentenced to ten years.
The act of arresting fugitives and announcing their murders has been ongoing trend directed against members of the Brotherhood.
In reaction to the incident, the Brotherhood said that the current regime should expect a new “popular uprising” that is fuelled by violence against citizens and harsh economic measures.
