By Heba Fahmy
CAIRO: The Muslim Brotherhood (MB) denied accusations that it kidnapped Magdy Ashour, an MB-affiliated parliamentary candidate in Al-Nozha district of Cairo, to prevent him from contesting in the runoff election on Sunday in defiance of the MB decision to boycott it.
Saad El-Katatni, head of the Muslim Brotherhood’s parliamentary bloc, told Daily News Egypt that Ashour traveled to Alexandria to “rest and get away from all the pressure” after he decided to withdraw from the runoff election.
“We didn’t know where he was,” El-Katatni said. “His wife was the one who informed us of his whereabouts.”
Ashour’s brother, Mohamed, reportedly filed a complaint that accused the MB of kidnapping Magdy Ashour after a heated argument between with MB leaders. The argument, which allegedly took place in Magdy Ashour’s home, stemmed from his decision to participate in the runoff elections, according to Mohamed Ashour.
Mohamed Ashour’s complaint stated that Magdy Ashour had contacted him and said that he was kidnapped outside of Cairo, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Interior.
The ministry further stated that its investigations had shown that Ashour was indeed abducted by the MB due to his refusal to withdraw from the runoff election.
Security forces arrested three MB members implicated in the kidnapping case — Abdel Zaher Mofid Hammouda, Maher Gamal Al Torky, and Salah Abdel Fattah — as they were leaving an apartment in Alexandria with Magdy Ashour, according to the ministry’s statement.
The ministry also stated that Magdy Ashour was first kidnapped at one of the MB’s headquarters in the Gesr El-Suez Street in Cairo, where he was then promptly taken to Alexandria.
In a phone interview with Egypt’s state television program “Masr El-Naharda” (Egypt Today) on Saturday evening, Magdy Ashour denied that he was kidnapped by the MB and confirmed El-Katatni’s statement that he had traveled to Alexandria to rest.
Magdi Ashour added that his brother only made the accusations because he was concerned about him.
“[Magdi Ashour’s] family was trying to pressure him to participate in the runoff election and defy the Brotherhood’s decision to withdraw,” El-Katatni told Daily News Egypt. “But Ashour is committed to the Brotherhood.
“All MB candidates are obliged to follow the Brotherhood’s decision to withdraw from the runoff election,” El-Katatni added.
The MB decided to withdraw from the runoff election on Wednesday, following the announcement of the parliamentary elections’ preliminary results in which the opposition group had won zero seats.
The MB accused the ruling National Democratic Party of many flagrant election violations, which included stuffing the ballots, vote rigging, and denying various opposition candidates’ representatives entry to polling stations — despite their possession of notarized permits that were supposed to authorize their entry.
In the 2005 parliamentary elections, the MB won 88 seats and thus represented nearly 20 percent of the entire outgoing parliament.
