Muslim Brotherhood figure says group will appeal dissolution verdict

Islamist leader Mohamed Bishr says the court that dissolved the Muslim Brotherhood is 'incompetent'

Leading Muslim Brotherhood figure Mohamed Ali Bishr criticised Monday's court ruling that banned all activities of the Islamist group.
The verdict, which was issued by the Cairo court for urgent matters, also ordered the interim government to seize the group's funds and establish a panel to administer its frozen assets until any future appeal has been heard.
The ruling on Monday applies to the group, its NGO and "any organisation derived from it," judges said.
“The verdict of dissolving the NGO came from an incompetent court, “ said Bishr, who argued that a valid ruling should have been issued by the administrative court.
The Brotherhood existed outside of Egyptian law for decades and was only officially registered as an NGO in March 2013.
Bishr, who was former Minister of Local Administration under deposed president Mohamed Morsi, asserted that the group will file an appeal against the verdict.
“I don't understand how a group can be dissolved when the charges facing its leaders are still being investigated,” said Bishr.
He added that the verdict will not influence any efforts towards reconciliation that “a lot of parties are trying to achieve between the Muslim Brotherhood and the new government.”
Monday's verdict is not the only challenge to the 85-year-old Islamist group's existence.
On 2 September, Egypt's State Commissioners Authority, a body that advises the government on legal issues, recommended the Brotherhood's dissolution after claims circulated of its links to armed militias.
The authority's recommendations - which are non-binding - were made in accordance with Law 84 of 2002, which prohibits non-governmental organisations and institutions from forming paramilitary wings.
Egyptian authorities launched a crackdown against the Brotherhood following the ouster of president Morsi — who hails from the group — on 3 July.
The group's Supreme Guide, Mohamed Badie, Deputy Supreme Guide Khairat El-Shater, and senior member Mohamed El-Beltagy are among dozens of high and mid-level Brotherhood leaders who have been detained and face charges including incitement of violence against their opponents.
Egyptian prosecutors froze in July the assets of several senior Brotherhood leaders and other prominent Islamists as part of investigations into the incitement of violence at protests.
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