Court Orders Al Shater and 15 MB Leaders Released

Cairo Criminal Court ordered the immediate release of the MB second deputy Mr. Khayrat el Shater and 15 other MB leaders and rejected all charges brought by the government.

Attorney Abdul Moneum Abdul el Maksoud, lawyer for the MB detainees, described the court ruling as "historical" and praised the impartiality of the judicial system in Egypt.

On January 30, another court will review yesterday’s decision by the Prosecutor General to freeze assets of 29 MB leaders and their families in one of the most serious escalations by the Egyptian regime against the pro-reform Muslim Brotherhood.

According to the emergency laws imposed in Egypt since 1981, the government has the right to keep detainees in custody or re-arrest them despite of the court ruling as it often did in numerous cases involving members of the Muslim Brotherhood.

The Muslim Brotherhood condemned yesterday’s extraordinary decision by the Prosecutor General to freeze assets of MB leaders and confirmed that members of the MB are being singled out by the regime only because of their political affiliations and their opposition to the government.