An Egyptian court has banned all activities of the Muslim Brotherhood and ordered its assets confiscated, widening a campaign by the military-backed government to debilitate the Islamist movement of deposed president Mohamed Morsi.Monday’s ruling comes amid a crackdown on the Brotherhood and more than a month after hundreds of Islamist protesters died in a police operation to disperse their Cairo sit-ins, sparking a wave of nationwide violence.
After president Hosni Mubarak was overthrown in 2011, the Brotherhood – outlawed for most of its 85 years in existence – formed a political party that won parliamentary and presidential elections.
The court ruling, which can be appealed, could drive more Brotherhood supporters underground and may encourage young Islamists to take up arms against the state. The group says it has a million members.
