Egyptian government seizes more Muslim Brotherhood offices, hospitals

A number of offices affiliated with the Freedom and Justice Party, the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood, have been seized by a committee tasked with appraising and freezing the funds of the group.

The committee said in an official statement issued on Wednesday that the offices, located in Cairo and Suez governorates, have been given to the ministry of finance to implement a court ruling.

The governmental committee has also announced that they have seized a number of hospitals in Beni Suef and five other medical laboratories and pharmacies in the same governorate.   

Chairman of the committee Mohamed Abouel Fotouh said that all of the medical outlets are currently operating under the supervision of the health ministry.

Since March, the panel has seized the funds of 702 Brotherhood leaders in addition to transferring the management of 1,050 NGOs and some 147 schools believed to be affiliated with the group into a government trusteeship.

The Brotherhood was banned by a court ruling in September of last year, two months after the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi.

Three legal challenges have been filed against the ruling, but courts have not issued any final decisions.

The group was deemed a terrorist organisation by Egyptian authorities in December 2013, a designation that was later upheld by a Cairo court.

source: Ahram Online