CAIRO: Egypt yesterday banned a pressure group that has pushed for the reinstatement of President Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood, who was overthrown by the army last year.
Egypt banned the Muslim Brotherhood itself last year and dissolved its political wing, the Freedom and Justice Party, in August precluding it from running in parliamentary elections expected to take place in the next few months.
Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb issued a decree yesterday dissolving the National Coalition to Support Legitimacy and Reject the Coup as well as its political arm, the Independence Party, in line with an earlier court ruling.
There was no immediate comment from the group.
The Coalition, which included Brotherhood supporters and other Islamist groups, was set up after then-army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi overthrew Mursi in July 2013 following mass protests against his rule.
Egyptian authorities have since cracked down on the Brotherhood, declaring it a terrorist group, throwing thousands of its members in jail and killing hundreds on a single day in one of the bloodiest episodes in Egypt’s modern history.
The pro-Mursi Coalition called for mass protests in the aftermath of that deadly crackdown in August last year, but was able to muster little support in the streets. Demonstrations have dwindled as the authorities have pursued their campaign against it.
REUTERS
