State Security prosecutors claimed Wednesday that Mahmoud Ezzat, first deputy general guide of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) opposition group, represented the group's "secret leader," both in Egypt and abroad. According to prosecutors, MB members living abroad had chosen Ezzat as the group's leader two weeks before the MB's Cairo-based Guidance Bureau announced its choice of Mohamed Badie for the position. Prosecutors also claim that investigations have revealed that Ezzat--along with MB Guidance Bureau members Essam el-Erian and Abdel Rahman el-Barr--had devised a plan to form "clandestine cells" in provinces across Egypt with the intention of overthrowing the regime and establishing an Islamic state. Prosecutors further allege that the three leaders had agreed only to recruit members that followed the doctrine of group founder Sayed Qutb and who have the means to finance armed operations against the regime. The defendants, however, vigorously deny the charges, saying that the ruling party was simply trying to settle old scores with the MB, which is considered Egypt's largest political opposition movement. Calling the charges "unjustifiable," MB lawyer Abdel Moneim Abdel Maqsoud said they were intended "to promote media hype and propaganda against the group." Translated from the Arabic Edition.
