MB’s Mohamed Ali Beshr arrested for inciting violence

Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Ali Beshr was arrested in the northern governorate of Monufiya early Thursday on charges of inciting violence, the state-owned EgyNews portal reported.

EgyNews said that Beshr was detained based on an official arrest warrant issued by prosecution, but no more information was released on the details of his arrest.

Beshr is the former minister of local development under the reign of ousted Islamist President Mohamed Morsi, and a member of the Brotherhood’s Guidance Bureau.

H.A. Hellyer, associate fellow of international security studies at the Royal United Services Institute in London, told Mada Masr that his arrest comes at an “interesting time,” after Egypt welcomed a reconciliation with Brotherhood’s strongest ally, Qatar, in a deal brokered by Saudi Arabia on Wednesday.

“One wonders if that might have anything to do with this move. Regardless, the timing is peculiar – Beshr has been left alone since Morsi was arrested in July last year,” Hellyer explained.

“At first, he was involved in negotiations with the authorities on behalf of the Brotherhood and the Anti-Coup Alliance, but that seems to have ended quite some time ago,” he added.

Beshr is also a leading figure in the National Alliance Supporting Legitimacy.

In a strongly worded statement released following his arrest, the alliance said it rejects the “vicious attack” against the alliance’s leaders, adding that Beshr’s arrest is a “huge loss for the Egyptian political scene."

The alliance is an umbrella group, formed by the Brotherhood following Morsi’s deposition, and was led by various Islamist parties to oppose the military-backed government, including the banned Freedom and Justice Party, Al-Watan, Al-Wasat, Al-Fadila, Al-Asala and Al-Amal.

Its activities were banned by Urgent Affairs Court in September, claiming that the alliance and its political arm, Al-Istiqlal (the Independence Party), were backing ousted President Mohamed Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood. The Cabinet executed the decision on October 30 through an official decree.

Hellyer also believed that Beshr’s arrest will definitely take its toll on the alliance. “His arrest may mean a further drifting of authority away from the alliance’s leadership, which will suffer a vacuum with his arrest, towards the lower levels of the pro-Morsi protesters.”

But the alliance seems to be persistent.

“[Beshr’s arrest] will not affect the alliance’s choices or its path. It will only increase the insistence on bring down the coup,” the alliance’s statement read.

Police forces were quick to publish the photos of his arrest, in a move similar to the photos published of other Brotherhood leaders arrested following Morsi's ouster in 2013.