Muslim preacher arrested near Libyan border

Safwat Hegazy joined the list of detained Islamist leaders, as security informed local media of his arrest in the early hours of Wednesday in Siwa, close to the Libyan border. 

Hegazy is facing charges of inciting violence and attempted murder alongside a number of other Brotherhood leaders. According to a security source quoted by the privately owned daily Al-Masry Al-Youm, Hegazy was arrested in Siwa with a lawyer, in what appears to have been just days before an attempted escape to Libya.

Hegazy’s arrest has been falsely reported a number of times previously, but this time different security sources confirmed the arrest, including Vice Interior Minister Abdel Fattah Othman who informed state television of some details of the operation.

Hegazy, a preacher close to the Muslim Brotherhood, has no clear organizational ties with them. When he considered taking part in the 2012 presidential elections, he was supported by the hardline Jama’a al-Islamiya. However, he retreated from the contest. He was a staunch supporter of Morsi’s presidency and is known for fiery public statements particularly against Christians. 

In the late hours of Monday, security also arrested Supreme Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood Mohamed Badie in an apartment in Nasr City, close to the Rabea al-Adaweya sit-in that was dispersed by the police and the army on August 14. 

Brotherhood leaders Essam al-Erian and Mohamed al-Beltagy remain out of security’s reach, although several security sources on Tuesday spread news that their whereabouts have been identified and that their arrests are imminent.