Egypt court dissolves Muslim Brotherhood’s political wing

The decision follows the designation of the Brotherhood as a “terrorist organisation” in December last year after Mr Morsi’s ouster

Cairo, Aug. 9: An Egyptian court on Saturday ordered the dissolution of the Freedom and Justice Party ( FJP), the political wing of the already banned Muslim Brotherhood movement.

The decision follows the designation of the Brotherhood as a “terrorist organisation” in December, after the military overthrew Islamist President Mohammad Morsi.

The FJP came out on top in every election in Egypt between its creation in the wake of the country’s Arab Spring uprising in 2011 and Mr Morsi’s removal in July 2013.

The Supreme Administrative Court, in its ruling on Saturday, ordered “the dissolution of the Freedom and Justice Party because it broke the law regarding political parties”.

“The party and the Muslim Brotherhood are the same thing” and “its members have committed deeds of violence and acts or terror against the nation,” state news agency MENA quoted the prosecution case as stating.

According to media reports, the decision is final and not open to appeal.

The party’s legal counsel denounced the ruling as “an episode in the series of the counter revolution,” in a statement posed on the party’s website.

The military toppled Mr Morsi, Egypt’s first democratically- elected President, after massive protests calling for his removal following a single year of turbulent rule. — AFP