Brotherhood Supreme Guide fired from university job

The board of the University of Zagazig decided on Tuesday to fire Mahmoud Ezzat, the current Supreme Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood and Brotherhood affiliated historian Mohamed Gawady from their jobs as professors of medicine, the state news agency MENA reports on Tuesday.

The reason for the decision was attributed to their absence from work for almost three months without justification or a formal vacation request.

Mahmoud Ezzat took over as the Supreme Guide of the group following the arrest of Mohamed Badie last August.

There was an arrest warrant issued for Ezzat in July along with other Brotherhood leaders with accusations of inciting and participating in violence that broke out outside of the presidential palace last November between supporters and opponents of former President Mohamed Morsi.

Most of the Muslim Brotherhood leading figures have been arrested since Morsi was forced out of power in July. Many of the group's members who remain on the loose are in hiding, avoiding their houses and places of work.

The head of the university, Ashraf al-Shihy had received complaints that both professors had been absent since June 26. After the University Council's investigations proved the allegations to be true, it issued a decision to end their employment.

Shihy asserted that this decision is administrative and is unrelated to the political situation in the country. He added that the decision is not targeting a certain group and is the standard procedure taken against any faculty members who miss work.