Egypt’s Brotherhood says no reconciliation with Sisi

Egypt’s embattled Muslim Brotherhood group has rejected any reconciliation with the regime of President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi.

In a Sunday statement, the Brotherhood said it will not give up legitimacy – in reference to president Mohamed Morsi, who was ousted by Sisi, a former army chief, in a 2013 coup.

“There is no compromise on the rights of the martyrs and injured, the detainees’ right to freedom and the people’s right to honourable life,” it said.

The statement was released one day after the Brotherhood’s deputy supreme guide, Ibrahim Munir, said Saturday the group was ready “to hear all viewpoints” from people of wisdom for reaching reconciliation “that includes Morsi and takes into consideration the crimes committed by the coup”.

“We are ready to hear all viewpoints regarding reconciliation,” he told Anadolu Agency.

Munir, however, told the pro-Brotherhood Watan channel that the group was not seeking reconciliation with the Egyptian regime.

Egypt’s oldest Islamist group, the Muslim Brotherhood has been the subject of a harsh crackdown by the Egyptian regime since the military removed Morsi, the country’s first freely-elected president and a Brotherhood leader.

The Egyptian authorities accuse the Brotherhood of condoning violence and have designated the group a “terrorist” organisation.

Since Morsi’s overthrow, thousands of Brotherhood members have been thrown behind bars and hundreds have been slapped with death sentences.