THE Egyptian Gazette of February 9, 1966 carried a front-page report entitled: “Ikhwan assassination plot trial opens” “Witness tells court how ‘underground' was discovered”. The report said: The trial of eight members of the leadership of the banned Muslim Brotherhood organisation (el-Ikhwan el-Muslimeen) opened yesterday before the Second Chamber of the State Security Court….Four defendants are standing trial in absentia. The other four pleaded not guilty to charges levelled against them. The court yesterday listened to the preliminary pleadings of the prosecution who charged that the defunct organisation was only motivated by a lust for power. The court also listened to the testimony of witness for the prosecution, Colonel Gamal Hosni of the Alexandria Investigation Department, who told the court how the underground organisation was discovered. The court later listened to pleadings by the third defendant Khattab el- Sayyed Khattab, who denied that he had been any secret organisation or that he was planning to assassinate the President of the Republic. He claimed that he had led the first and second accused Saeed Ramadan and Kamel el-Sherif to the belief that he was leading an underground organisation and that he would make an attempt on the life of the President, but he did that, he said, only to obtain money from them. Meanwhile, The Egyptian Gazette of April 8, 1966, reported that Ikhwan terrorist trial was due to open the next day. The Gazette was referring to the First Chamber Under General Mohamed Fouad el-Degwy to which were referred leading members of the organisation in the case which came to be known as the ‘Sayyed Kotb case'. The Egyptian Gazette of April 19, 1966 carried a report headlined: “Violence would not serve” “Ikhwan interests” “Acquittal demanded” The report said: The First Chamber of the Supreme State Security Court, under the presidency of General Mohamed Fouad el- Degwy, yesterday continued the case against the leadership of the Ikhwan el-Muslimeen secret organisation. At this sitting, the court listened to pleadings by the defence counsel for the second defendant, Mohamed Youssef Hawash, who said that the defendant became acquainted with Sayyed Kotb while both were in prison. The defendant, he added, was completely dominated by Sayyed Kotb from a religious and spiritual point of view. When they were released, they maintained relations, which had nothing to do with the secret organisation. Hawash had no connection whatever with the organisation until August 6, 1965, i.e. 18 days before he was arrested when Sayyed Kotb asked him to head the organisation in Cairo in case he was arrested.
