The Revolution and the Muslim Brotherhood (48), The third encounter, XVI- Ikhwan women in the dock (II). Hamida Kotb was another Ikhwan woman tried with Zeinab el-Ghazaly. Apart from being the sister of the Ikhwan leader and chief accused in the case, and what was revealed during the trial, little is known about her background. She was sentenced to 15 years. The Egyptian Gazette of May 17, 1966 reported the trial of the two Ikhwan women. Headlined: El-Ghazaly admits having acted as Ikhwan liaison Hamida Kotb says she opposed murder The Gazette report said: The trial of two women members of the Muslim Brotherhood underground organisation, Zeinab el-Ghazaly and Hamida Kotb, opened yesterday before the Supreme State Security Court meeting under General Mohamed Fouad el-Degwy at the Revolution Command Council headquarters in Gezira. Judge Advocate, Major General Sayyed Gad summed up the charges levelled against the two defendants in their having attempted to change the country's constitution and form of government by force through the formation of an underground organisation of the banned Muslim Brotherhood. Both women pleaded not guilty. Answering the Court President's questions, Zeinab el-Ghazaly admitted having acted as liaison between Muslim Brotherhood members abroad, and Hassan el-Hodeiby, the organisation's former Supreme Guide, and the organisations' command council over which she termed ‘Muslim studies and Muslim rallying' She denied. All knowledge of the organisation's targets asserting that she had heard of the contemplated assassinations only while she was detained. She admitted, however, having conveyed a verbal message to King Saud through Moustafa el-Alem, another defendant no in Saudi Arabia, and that the message was in no way connected with the Muslim Brotherhood. She admitted also having delivered a closed message from Sheikh Abdulfattah Ismail, one of the Ikhwan leaders, to fugitive defendant Ashmawy Soliman in 1960 when she performed the holy pilgrimage, adding that she had received a reply to that message, but was not aware of the contents of either message. Other admissions by Zeinab el-Ghazaly included that her receiving LE4,000 from the Brotherhood group abroad (in two equal installments) by way of aid for Ikhwan members held in detention. Of this she paid LE1,000 to Abdul Fattah Ismail for distribution among the families of those detainees, LE2,000 to Hamida Kotb to be held by her in trust, and 1,000 to Ali Ashmawy, the man responsible for the Cairo organisation, also for the relief of detained members. Zeinab el-Ghazaly, continuing her admissions, recalled having received individual calls by Abdulfattah Ismail and Abdufattah el-Sherif in connection with their desire to meet ex-Supreme Guide Hodeiby in a bid to revive the dissolved organisation. Zeinab said she had conveyed the request to Hodeiby and later formed a five-woman Islamic group including Aliya el-Hodeiby and Hamida Kotb for the propagation of the Muslim call. Continuing its report, The Egyptian Gazette said: Hamida Kotb, answering Court questions, said she had known Zeinab el-Ghazaly as early as 1961, and admitted having acted as liaison between a group of Muslim Brotherhood youth and her brother Sayyed Kotb while he was in prison during 1963. She admitted having carried two messages from her brother to defendant Ali Ashmawy, one calling for the cessation of Brotherhood activities and the other for the execution of certain acts formerly agreed upon by the Ikhwan. Hamida said that she understood from those messages that the Brotherhood sought through peaceful channels to inform the authorities of the truth about their organisation. She revealed having conveyed to Ali Ashmawy her brother's wish that Youssef Hawash should act for him as leader of the organisation. She also communicated Hawash's own views on the question of assassinations saying she had impressed upon him the gravity of the matter which would have serious consequences. She asserted that she had no knowledge of the existence of an underground organisation, nor of weapons or plans for sabotage and destruction. [email protected]
--------------- This series of articles, based on the rich archives of The Gazette, is written by Sami El-Shahed, an ex-Editor-in-Chief of The Egyptian Gazette.
