Logo of the Muslim Brotherhood
For Egypt, the arrest of Mohamed Ali Bishr signifies the detainment of the last senior Brotherhood leader in the nation since the political organization was declared a terrorist group by the military government, which blamed it for a bomb attack on a police headquarters in December 2013 that killed 16 people. The attack occurred in the midst of mass demonstrations that followed the military ousting of the democratically elected president, Mohamed Morsi, in July 2013 - - Morsi is a Muslim Brotherhood member and he secured the most votes in Egypt's free elections.
The Muslim Brotherhood denied responsibility for the attack, and an al-Qaeda inspired group later announced that they were behind the bombing. Morsi's supporters continued to stage demonstrations, but since a major crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood was initiated, thousands of supporters have been jailed, tens of thousands of Muslim Brotherhood members have been detained (including Morsi) and hundreds of members have been killed.
Bishr is actually considered a moderate within the Muslim Brotherhood and before he was detained, he was playing a key role for the government, whereby he was negotiating communication between government officials and his fellow Muslim Brotherhood leaders. Bishr was at home in the Nile Delta region of Cairo when he was arrested.
Bishr's lawyer has told the media that no formal charges have been laid yet, and Bishr will only know what they are when he stands before the prosecution. According to Egyptian security officials, the arrest is based on a suspicion of offenses, including the organization of unauthorized street protests that are scheduled for the end of November.
Meanwhile in Jordan, the deputy head of the country's Muslim Brotherhood body, Zaki Bani Rushaid, was arrested on Thursday evening at the organization's head office in the capital of Amman. In comparison to Egypt, the Jordanian government has been tolerant of the Muslim Brotherhood, but several members have been arrested in recent months for openly criticizing the country's government. Rushaid's arrest is for a similar charge, as he recently published an opinion piece that is critical of the UAE government, which designated the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist group on Saturday.
