Egypt Junta Arrests Muslim Brotherhood Members, Seizes Assets

Son of Protest Organizer Arrested for 'Terrorism'

Since the Egyptian military junta’s recent declaration of the Muslim Brotherhood as a “terrorist organization,” the wholesale crackdown on the former ruling party has continued apace, with daily arrests.

Today, the arrests including Anas Beltagi, the son of a major anti-coup protest organizer who was arrested previously. He and two others in his apartment face “terrorism” charges as well for their links with the Brotherhood.

In addition to the arrests, the Justice Ministry reported that it has confiscated all of the assets of 572 Egyptians accused of being “leaders” in the Brotherhood, including all “movable and immovable properties.”

The Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) held parliament and the presidency in Egypt’s elected government before the July 3 coup. Since then, the military has repeatedly massacred protesters calling for a restoration of elected government, and has used those large death tolls as justification for labeling the organizers of the protests as “terrorists.”

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.