More than 1,300 Brotherhood-affiliated NGOs appropriated by Al-SISI regime

More than 1,300 NGOs affiliated to the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt have been appropriated by the government since the coup two years ago. The NGOs’ assets and funds have been seized and are being managed by the Social Security Ministry.

The Islamic movement was designated as a “terrorist organisation” by the Al-Sisi regime in January last year. An earlier court decision banned the activities of the Brotherhood and all entities affiliated with it in September 2013; the court ordered the confiscation of all of the movement’s funds and assets.

The government formed a committee to manage the funds, companies and NGOs allegedly owned by the Brotherhood. The head of the committee, Ezzat Khamis, said that the committee appealed against judicial rulings lifting the confiscation orders of a number of the NGOs.

“When it is proven that any organisation has no links to the Brotherhood group,” he explained, “the confiscation [order] is lifted for it.” He cited Resalah charity organisation as an example, saying that “investigations did not prove that this organisation is owned or run by the Brotherhood’s leaders.” Resalah is one of the largest charity organisations in Egypt.

A Brotherhood source told Anadolu earlier that 342 companies, 1,107 NGOs and 174 schools – in addition to the assets of 1,441 Muslim Brotherhood leaders – were confiscated and appropriated by the Egyptian government in the first eight months of 2014.