Egypt’s ministry of social solidarity Monday ordered the dissolution of 169 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) affiliated with the blacklisted Muslim Brotherhood (MB), Xinhua news agency reported citing state-run Ahram Online.
The move comes in line with a previous ruling issued by the ‘Court of Urgent Matters’ banning the activities of the MB and ordering the seizure of all the group’s assets, the ministry said in a statement.
In December 2013, the Egyptian government termed the Muslim Brotherhood, the power base of ousted president Mohammed Morsi, as a terrorist organization after it attributed several deadly attacks to members of the group.
An Egyptian court on Monday also sentenced Alaa Abdel Fattah, a leading dissident in the 2011 uprising that toppled strongman Hosni Mubarak, to five years in prison over an illegal protest. Egypt earlier had charged 215 supporters of the banned MB with forming a militant group.
The country’s chief prosecutor accused the group - known as the Helwan Brigades - of killing six policemen and possessing weapons and ammunition.
In February 2014, an Egyptian court also designated the Brotherhood as a terrorist organization.
Egypt has been facing a growing wave of anti-security attacks in the Sinai Peninsula and other parts across the country following the removal of Morsi in July 2013.
Thousands of MB members have been arrested since then-army head Abdel Fattah el-Sisi ousted the group from power in 2013 and later banned it.
