Beltagy defends himself in court

Dr Mohamed El-Beltagy, a defendant in the Supreme Office case, asked the court to allow him to defend himself. The judge allowed it and he was permitted to leave the defendant’s cage and address the court from the stand.

El-Beltagy began by saying: “It is an honour to follow in the footsteps of our fellow Egyptians and martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the sake of this country. Whether I am found innocent or sentenced to death, it is all the same to me because we are sacrificing our lives for the sake of this nation; the government and security services are in a political and personal rivalry with me and my colleagues.”

He added: “I am speaking from a position of responsibility and may these words go down in history. With regards to the accusations directed against the Muslim Brotherhood, they are false and I will prove this based on three arguments. I am 50 years old and no one has complained about me nor have I ever dealt with the prosecution or police stations. However, after July 30, I was accused of a number of allegations I had no previous knowledge of.”

The Brotherhood official added: “I was successful in the 2005 elections, in spite of Mubarak’s regime, and I have never been a politically fierce individual. On the contrary, I was the link between the various political parties in the Arab world.”

He also noted that “the total years I have been sentenced to is 111 years imprisonment, as well as an additional 39 years, being accused of murder and intent to kill, but I don’t know anything about these murders. In addition to this, my daughter was killed by a police bullet, my son has been imprisoned on charges of a closed case, and a case is being prepared against my wife in order to wipe us all out.”

El-Beltagy also noted that the medical centre belonging to him and his wife was burned down, which he believes if due to the fact that he is in the midst of a security dispute with the current government and state security agency.

He then addressed his educational and academic record by saying: “I was the sixth in my class in high school and the first in my class in medical school in Al-Azhar University. I was also very popular and loved by my classmates, and this enabled me to be elected as president of the student union at Al-Azhar. This love also allowed me to gain the trust of the citizens of Shubra El-Kheima, who elected me as their representative at parliament in spite of Mubarak’s regime.”

“June 30 is the date we witnessed the attack on the protestors in front of the Guidance Council. I am now being tried by this court as a result of this incident. On this same day, my medical centre specialising in ear, nose, and throat diseases in Shurbra El-Kheima in the Qalyubia municipality.”

He noted that he believes that there is a rivalry between him and the state security agencies, accusing them of killing his daughter Asma’a, targeting her amongst all the protestors, on the day the Rabaa Al-Adawiya protest was dispersed. He said that “the security forces, including the state security forces and the intelligence, are responsible for killing the Egyptians on January 28, 2011, on the Friday of Anger, as well as during the Rabaa protest dispersal, and during the Farafrah and Domyat incidents,” explaining that these incidents were set up by state security forces in order to frame specific individuals.

In defence of the Brotherhood, he said: “This group and these individuals have never been accused of criminal activities; all of the accusations made against them throughout history have merely been political accusations.” Adding: “This group is peaceful and does not adopt a violent approach. Would a group that adopts violence engage in political activity? Or have the people all lost their minds.”

The defendants in the Guidance Council case include Dr Mohammed Badie, Supreme Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood, his deputy Dr Khairat El-Shater, Dr Rashad Al-Bayumi, Dr Saad El-Katatni, Leader of the Freedom and Justice Party, the political branch of the Brotherhood, his deputy Dr Essam El-Erian, Dr Mohamed El-Beltagy, a member of the party’s executive office, Dr Mohammad Mahdi Akef, the former General Guide, Dr Osama Yassin, former Minister of Youth, Ayman Hudhud, former Advisor to the President, Ahmed Shousha and Hussam Abu Bakr Al-Sidiq, Mahmoud Al-Zinati, Abdel Rahim Mohamed Abdul Rahim, Rida Fahmy, Mustafa Abdul Atheem Al-Bashlawi, Mohammed Abdul Atheem Al-Bashlawi and Asef Abdul Jaleel Al-Samri, all of whom are leaders and members of the Muslim Brotherhood.