Egyptian authorities arrest teenage son of senior Brotherhood official

The Egyptian authorities arrested 16-year-old Khaled Al-Beltagy on Tuesday. The teenage son of leading Muslim Brotherhood official Mohamed Al-Beltagy was arrested at his family home in the Cairo neighbourhood of Nasr City. No arrest warrant was produced.

His brother Ammar, who is based in Istanbul, told Anadolu that the Egyptian authorities “kidnapped” Khaled from the house and took him to an unknown location when he returned from his classes. The youngster is studying for the General Secondary Certificate.

According to his brother, this is the second time that Khaled has been arrested. On the previous occasion, he was detained on “absurd, random and fabricated” charges despite his young age, his studies and the detention of his father and sibling. “Khaled always visited his father and brother in prison, and now he himself has turned into a prisoner in Egypt, which has become a big prison,” Ammar added. “Khaled’s detention is revenge for the role of his father in the Egyptian revolution and in leading the national front against the tyranny of Mubarak and the military and in defence of Egyptians’ rights and freedoms.”

This latest arrest will not deter the family from continuing on the path, Ammar insisted. “We call on rights and media organisations to follow up on the violations [committed] against our family and against the Egyptians who are subjected, as a result of military rule, to a barbaric campaign that has nothing to do with ethics, law or humanity.”

Ammar Al-Beltagy described the current crackdown as “the worst in Egypt’s modern history” and said that its victims include young Egyptians, students and the families of martyrs and detainees.

Mohamed Al-Beltagy was a member of the Egyptian parliament, the People’s Assembly, and is a leading member of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood. He is married and had five children before his daughter Asmaa was killed during the security forces’ dispersal of the 2013 Rabaa Al-Adawiyya Square sit-in. He has been detained since 29 August, 2013 and is serving three life sentences.