Egypt Prosecution Orders Release of Son of Brotherhood Leader El-Beltagy

Beni Suef prosecution has decided to release the son of Muslim Brotherhood senior leader Mohamed El-Beltagy on Sunday, several hours after his arrest, as no charges have been brought against him.

Ammar, 20 years-old, was arrested on Sunday as part of a large-scale crackdown on the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood group.

Along with three other sons of Brotherhood leaders, Ammar El-Beltagy was rounded up in Beni Suef Governorate, south of Cairo, according to security sources. His father, who was issued an arrest warrant for allegations including terrorising people, torture and murder, is still in hiding, as is fellow leading Brotherhood member Essam El-Erian.

Mohamed El-Beltagy’s 17 year-old daughter Asmaa was killed in a bloody police raid on a pro-Morsi protest camp in east Cairo on 14 August, which left hundreds dead and sparked days of violent clashes, pitting Islamists against security forces.

Beni Suef prosecution decided to detain four other members of the Muslim Brotherhood for four days, pending investigation, according to Al-Ahram’s Arabic site.

The 85 year-old Muslim Brotherhood movement – which operated in the shadows until the deposition of former President Hosni Mubarak in 2011 – has been reeling from a widespread clampdown on its senior leaders and supporters, following the ouster of Brotherhood-affiliated former President Mohamed Morsi last month.

Mohamed Badie, the group’s main authority and spiritual leader, was arrested last week. This is the first time in three decades that the group’s supreme guide has been arrested.

Badie, along with his two deputies, Khairat El-Shater and Rashad Bayoumi, are due to stand trial on 29 October after the first hearing was adjourned on Sunday because the defendants could not attend for security reasons.

Source: Ahram Online