Cairo: Egyptian authorities Thursday arrested Mohammad Beshr, a senior leader in the Muslim Brotherhood, in a predawn raid on his house in the Delta province of Menufiya, security sources and an Islamist alliance said.
“Beshr was arrested after an arrest warrant was issued against him for inciting violence against the state in the demonstrations planned on November 28,” a security source said.
“He did not resist his arrest,” the source added on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to talk to the media.
Beshr served as minister of local development under president Mohammad Mursi, who was toppled by the army in mid-2013 following enormous street protests against his one-year rule.
Beshr, a moderate Islamist, was one of very few leading members of the Brotherhood who were not detained in the tough security crackdown that targeted the Islamist group in the wake of Mursi’s removal.
A Brotherhood-led alliance confirmed Beshr’s arrest on Thursday, calling it part of a “rabid campaign” by Egyptian authorities against dissidents.
“Beshr’s detention is a big loss for Egyptian politics,” the National Alliance in Support of Legitimacy, said in a statement. “But it will not affect the alliance’s options or course of action,” added the alliance, which has organised frequent street protests in recent months demanding Mursi’s reinstatement.
The Salafist Front, a staunch backer of Mursi’s Brotherhood, has called for massive antigovernment protests on November 28, dubbing it an “Islamic Revolution”.
Egyptian authorities have vowed firmness against any “attempt to violate the law”.
Thousands of Mursi’s loyalists have been rounded up and put on trial since his ouster. Last December, the government designated the Brotherhood as a terrorist organisation.
