An Egyptian court on Monday banned the Muslim Brotherhood from carrying out any activities in the country and ordered the seizure of the group’s funds, widening a campaign to debilitate the Islamist movement of deposed President Mohammad Mursi.
“The court bans the activities of the Muslim Brotherhood organization and its non-governmental organization and all the activities that it participates in and any organization derived from it,” said the presiding Judge Mohammed al-Sayed.
The decision marks a dramatic escalation of a crackdown by the military-backed government against the supporters of the ousted Mursi.
The court ordered the government to seize the Brotherhood’s funds and administer its frozen assets.
The army-backed government is waging the toughest crackdown in decades on the Islamist group, which says it has a million members. Security forces killed hundreds of its supporters and rounded up thousands more since Mursi was deposed by the army on July 3 after mass protests against his rule.
The Brotherhood won parliamentary and presidential elections after veteran autocrat Hosni Mubarak was overthrown in 2011.
It was officially registered as a recognized non-governmental organization in March, after being outlawed for most of its 85-year existence.
(With The Associated Press and Reuters)
