Egypt: Funds of Brotherhood-run medical charity confiscated

An Egyptian governmental committee has decided to confiscate the funds and assets of the largest medical charity association run by Muslim Brotherhood leaders, according to the committee’s general secretary.

While members of the Islamic Medical Association refused to comment on the committee’s decision, a source at the Muslim Brotherhood’s legal committee said they would appeal against the decision.

The committee that issued the decision to confiscate the association’s assets, headed by Judge Ezzat Khamis, is in charge of assessing and managing the Brotherhood’s assets.

The decision stipulated the confiscation of all funds and assets belonging to the Islamic Medical Association and its 28 branches located in different governorates across the country.

The Islamic Medical Association is considered to be the largest medical charity organisation owned by the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt.

The committee’s Secretary-General Judge Yasser Aboul Fotouh said the decision came in line with a decree from a Cairo court which banning the activities of the Muslim Brotherhood.

He added that a new board of directors has been appointed to carry out its work starting yesterday. Egypt’s former Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa has been appointed chairman, according to Aboul Fotouh.

He stressed that the confiscation decision will not “cause any harm to the association’s employees”, and that the association will continue to provide its services “at the same, if not better quality”.

The Egyptian security forces have confiscated the association’s Cairo headquarters, located in the Nasr City neighborhood, and a number of hospitals affiliated to it, according to eyewitnesses and Anadolu Agency’s correspondents.

The Medical Islamic Association is registered with the Ministry of Social Affairs. It was established in 1978 by Ahmed Al-Malt, a former member of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Guidance Bureau.