UAE says it uncovers plot to revive ‘Muslim Brotherhood’

The UAE has uncovered a plot to revive the Muslim Brotherhood within the country, according to a report published on Friday by the Emirati news agency, WAM.

“Investigations conducted by the Public Prosecution, under the supervision of the Attorney-General, have uncovered a new secret organization operating outside the country formed by fugitive members of the Reform Call Organization,” the report said. The Al-Islah group is classified as a terrorist organisation within the country and was slated for dissolution in 2013.

The State Security Department has been monitoring fugitives sentenced in absentia in 2013. This surveillance revealed that members of the Brotherhood-affiliated organisation convened abroad, recruited others, and received funding from sources within the UAE and other “terrorist groups.” These funds aimed to revive the group’s objectives through media, economic, and educational sectors.

The state-run news agency said that the group “is associated with several fronts posing as charitable or intellectual organisations and television channels,” including the UK-based think-tank the Cordoba Foundation (TCF), which was classified as a terrorist organisation in the Gulf state in 2014.

The fugitive members are said to have communicated via internet applications and mutual visits. Confessions from an arrested member detailed the group’s structure, activities, and roles in threatening stability, including smear campaigns, hate speech, and financing terrorism, the report adds.

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