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The Muslim Brotherhood called the announcement by the government to deem it a terrorist organisation “illegitimate” before declaring that the “government is a failure” in a statement on Monday.
The League of Arab States also announced on Monday that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had requested them to notify all members of their decision concerning the “terrorist” status of the Muslim Brotherhood as per the 1998 Arab Convention on Suppression of Terrorism. The League announced that it has notified the members of the designation.
The cabinet also announced that the organisation will be legally accountable under Article 86 of the Egyptian Penal Code which stipulates that the death penalty may be handed out to individuals belonging to the organisation if found guilty of acts of terrorism.
In a statement responding to the cabinet’s decision, the Muslim Brotherhood said, “The government has received criticism in response to this decision from Kuwait, England, Human Rights Watch, newspapers such as Financial Times, the Washington Post, Daily Telegraph and many others” before saying that it was best described by a former member of the Kuwaiti parliament as “a reckless, mad and fascist decision”.
The cabinet’s decision came in the wake of an explosion that occurred in the Al-Daqahleya Security Directorate on 23 December, resulting in the death of 16 people and the injury of more than 100. Despite the Muslim Brotherhood’s condemnation of the attack and the lack of evidence linking the bombing to the organisation, various parties have blamed the Brotherhood for the explosion in Mansoura.
The organisation also referred to an alleged announcement by the Ministry of Interior in which a Takfiri group was accused of the Daqahleya bombing, not the Muslim Brotherhood. The organisation commented saying that “this clears their name from all allegations”.
“It’s no wonder that a government, which has committed murder and bloodshed, finds it easy to lie and commit slander,” the statement said.
The Anti-Coup Alliance, a Muslim Brotherhood support coalition, called on all pro-Muslim Brotherhood protesters to escalate protests in a peaceful manner and to support the “rage of the poor, university students, factories and prisoners”.
