Egypt

Brotherhood lawyer complains about call for protest

Muslim Brotherhood lawyer Abdel Moneim Abdel Maqsoud said he filed a report with the public prosecution against 14 parties, political movements and public figures who called for protests in front of the Guidance Bureau on Friday.

The protests call for the dissolution of the Muslim Brotherhood on the grounds that it does not have the correct legal status.

Abdel Maqsoud stressed that he respects freedom of expression, but only if it does not threaten public security or violate public and private properties. Any violence that breaks out in the course of protests in front of the Guidance Bureau is the responsibility of those parties who called for the demonstrations, he warned.

The public prosecutor and interior minister must force those parties to pledge not to use violence during the protests, Abdel Maqsoud said, adding that the planned protests were without cause, as the Brotherhood had legalized its status and was registered under number 644 in 2013.

The lawyer asked why the Brotherhood was coming under attack at this time, when it was inviting all parties to a national dialogue in order to better serve the nation.

The Brotherhood exercises the highest degree of self-control and completely rejects all forms of confrontation with opposition parties, Abdel Maqsoud asserted. He blamed security forces for failing to quell confrontations between rioters and protesters in front of the Brotherhood headquarters in Moqattam.

The group fully respects the right to peaceful protest, but no one should provoke its members, Abdel Maqsoud continued.

Political powers must not get dragged into this futile battle, which harms the opposition by undermining its credibility, and only serves to further strengthen support for Islamist movements, the lawyer concluded.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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