Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed al-Beltagy told the prosecution that when he said that the “violence in Sinai will stop the second [Defense Minister] Abdel Fattah al-Sisi overturns the coup” he was referring to protests rather than the terrorist attacks.
He added that he meant that protests will break out throughout the country and particularly in Sinai as a result of the coup and will only stop if ousted President Mohamed Morsy is reinstated.
When asked by interrogators what he meant when he referred to “millions of martyrs” in another video, Beltagy said that the people will hold their ground even if the sit-in was forcibly dispersed and everyone killed.
Beltagy described the protests that broke out on June 30 as “a 47-hour Photoshop revolution” adding that the current regime is “isolated from the world.”
He also denied accusations that he incited intimidation or murder in Bein al-Sarayat.
Beltagy was ordered detained for 15 days pending investigations after a five-hour interrogation.
He said he did not incite violence in Giza. “I was in the Rabaa al-Adaweya sit-in away from Giza. I don’t know anyone in Giza. The party's philosophy rejects violence.”
He said that peaceful protest to support legitimacy is a right for every citizen. He argued that the media currently portrays supporters of the Islamist as terrorists and the sit-ins as hubs for radical elements in order to bolster the image of the perpetrators of the coup in the eyes of the public.
Asked if the Brotherhood leaders held meetings to plan for violence, Beltagy said the group's leaders met before and after June 30 but no violence was ever planned.
Beltagy accused authorities of trumping up charges against him, saying his arrest was politically motivated.
Beltagy said that he was first hiding in a rented apartment in Rabaa al-Adawyea before leaving to Tersa village after the arrest of Supreme Guide Mohamed Badie. Second-line leaderships helped him move to his new hiding place in Tersa. He said he filmed the video he gave to Al-Jazeera in Tersa.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
