Egyptian state media reported on Friday that Egypt’s military government will dissolve the Muslim Brotherhood as a non-governmental organization (NGO). The government has denied these allegations.
According to BBC, a social solidarity ministry spokesman stated that the government could revoke the group’s NGO status “within days.” However, a prime minister’s aide, Sherif Shawki said the solidarity minister, Ahmed el-Boraie, had not issued a decision on the matter.
The state-run newspaper Al-Akhbar reported that el-Boraie’s decision to dissolve the group came from accusations that the Brotherhood used their headquarters to store weapons and explosives, Reuters writes. The move would effectively strip the group of any legal status, and remove the loophole that helped the Muslim Brotherhood remain intact even when they were formally dissolved in 1954 by Egypt’s army rulers.
Thousands of protestors took to the streets of Cairo after hearing that the Brotherhood’s NGO wing could be dissolved, Euro News reports. At least three people were injured while one was killed, and the violence in Egypt is expected to erupt if the Brotherhood is formally stripped of its NGO status.