Erian arrested after evading security for months

Security forces arrested leading member of the Muslim Brotherhood Essam al-Erian in the early hours of Wednesday morning, according to official media reports, and has been detained for 30 days on charges of inciting violence.

Erian, who served as vice president of the Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party, was arrested in an apartment in New Cairo’s Fifth District after evading more than 100 arrest warrants and attempts to detain him in eight governorates, reported the privately-owned Al-Masry Al-Youm.

Media reports said Erian did not attempt to resist the arrest when security forces raided the apartment.

On August 15, a day after the violent dispersal of sit-ins demanding the reinstatement of deposed President Mohamed Morsi, news emerged of the arrest of three prominent Brotherhood members including Erian. He later denied this on his Facebook page. The Interior Ministry also denied the arrests. Media reports, however, suggested that the leaders were arrested but then freed by armed men.

Before the dispersal Erian was stationed at the Rabea al-Adaweya sit-in, which existed for over a month, but despite his leading role he was not part of reconciliation attempts taking place at the time as he refused to engage in talks with the interim government appointed after Morsi’s removal.

Haitham Abu Khalil, a former Muslim Brotherhood leader, told Mada Masr that Erian was always marginalized in the group’s internal structure and not as influential as people perceived him to be.

“Although he was a parliament member and had an impact in dealing with other political parties, inside the group itself, Erian was considered part of the reformist stream, which often opposed other conservative leading members such as Khariat al-Shater,” he said.

Erian was a long time treasurer of the Doctors Syndicate and served as a member of several parliaments, which in many ways defined his role and significance in the group’s structure.

In late August, Erian appeared on the Qatari Al Jazeera channel, calling on supporters to take to the streets to protest what the group calls the “military coup” of July 3 and the dispersal of the sit-ins on August 14, which left hundreds dead.

Protests have continued against Morsi’s ouster, the military’s role in politics, and the continued arrests of Islamist leaders, at times ending in clashes between protesters on the one hand and security forces and civilians on the other.

In his Al Jazeera message, Erian had said that the army’s "war on terrorism" was imaginary, and that its actions were circumventing the road to democracy and eroding everything that people fought for in the wake of the January 25 revolution.

In another video aired on Al Jazeera on September 29, Erian called for dialogue on condition that those “who led the coup” admit their wrongdoings and reinstate Morsi. One of the few group leaders not in custody at the time, he said the only way out was for everyone who contributed to the “military coup, which turned into a bloody coup with the massacres committed in Rabea al-Adaweya, Nahda Square, Ramses Square, Delga and Kerdasa,” to admit they were never democratic but took the side of one faction of society over another.

Speaking from an undisclosed location, Erian also said dialogue could only follow the release of all of Brotherhood detainees and the prosecution of those responsible for killing the group’s supporters.

On September 8, Erian was referred to the Giza Criminal court with other Islamist leaders such as Mohamed Badie, Mohamed al-Beltagy, Essam Abdel Magid and Safwat Hegazy. The decision was taken by the General Prosecution, which had found during investigations that the defendants met at Rabea al-Adaweya where they agreed to organize marches on July 15 and use violence to terrorize citizens. 

Seven died and hundreds were injured in clashes on July 15 between Morsi supporters and police on the October 6 Bridge near Tahrir Square, Ramses Square, Nahda Square, and the Bahr al-Aazam area, where the marches were organized.

Security forces also arrested leading Brotherhood member Magdy Mostafa al-Halafawy also on Wednesday, on charges of inciting violence in Suez. Halafawy, a professor at the Suez Maritime Institute, was staying in an apartment in Alexandria when he was arrested, MENA reported.