Senior Muslim Brotherhood members arrested before Morsi trial

Senior Muslim Brotherhood members Mahmoud Ghozlan and Abdel Rahman al-Barr were arrested early on Monday morning, hours before a verdict was expected in Mohamed Morsi’s espionage and prison break cases, the state-owned Al-Ahram newspaper reported.

The two prominent Brotherhood figures, both members of the group’s Guidance Bureau, were allegedly hiding in an apartment in 6th of October City and had been wanted for over two years for planning to mobilize mass protests following the sentencing of Morsi, according to Al-Ahram.  

Both Ghozlan and Barr were sentenced to death, along with Supreme Guide Mohamed Badie, on charges of establishing an operations room to instruct Brotherhood members to confront the authorities and spread chaos after the deadly dispersals of the Rabea al-Adaweya and Nahda Square sit-ins in August 2013.

According to Al-Ahram, both defendants confessed to planning mass protests in the coming period, as well as the targeting of police and military forces. Blueprints of attacks on vital facilities were allegedly confiscated from the apartment where they were hiding, the newspaper added.

In a statement on the Brotherhood's official Facebook page, spokesperson Mohamed Montasser said that Ghozlan and Barr’s arrest is a “failed attempt” to deter the group, vowing to continue the struggle against “injustice.”

“All our leaders’ sacrifices are merely signs that victory is near,” he wrote.

Ghozlan and Barr’s arrest comes a day after the Interior Ministry issued a statement saying it had foiled a planned attack by the Muslim Brotherhood against the police, military and a number of media personalities.

Egyptian state television interrupted its scheduled programming late Monday evening to issue an “important announcement” from security authorities about the Muslim Brotherhood and their “terrorist plans” in Egypt and abroad.

The statement claimed that a “terrorist cell” — which has allegedly been functioning since 2012, when the Muslim Brotherhood was governing Egypt — was apprehended, and the following information obtained as a result of the “restless efforts” of Egyptian security forces.

Moments after the broadcast, a military source denied issuing any statements regarding the security situation in Egypt to privately owned Masrawy news portal, leading some social media users to speculate about rifts within the state security apparatus.

The broadcast claimed that the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and the International Organization of the Muslim Brotherhood have been planning to infiltrate state institutions in Egypt, to hack into the personal accounts and official websites of authorities, obstruct production, promote strife, broadcast intentionally misleading news, harm national security and destabilize the country, along with other criminal charges, with the express intention of  “targeting security installations, political figures, the judiciary, media personnel and members of the police and Armed Forces.”

These terror operations were allegedly “led by senior Brotherhood leaders,” including Morsi, along with the heads of the Brotherhood’s Guidance Bureau, Khairat al-Shater and Mamdouh Ezzat, amongst others, in coordination with unnamed foreign powers and entities.

The security announcement detailed the role of the apprehended terrorist cell, including: Gathering information and relaying it to foreign bodies and Brotherhood leaders abroad, promotion sedition and chaos by broadcasting false news, training recruits abroad to hack into the websites of political figures and ministries — with the aim of posting false information relating to the budget — instigating political turmoil, and providing terrorist cells with the necessary technical, financial and logistical support from foreign sources.

The Muslim Brotherhood moved from being Egypt’s elected ruling party in 2012 — controlling both houses of parliament, the presidency, Cabinet and other state bodies — to being officially designated as an outlawed terrorist organization, according to a Cabinet decree issued on December 25, 2013.

On August 12, 2012, Morsi appointed Abdel Fattah al-Sisi as minister of defense. On July 2, 2013, Sisi headed the military-supported ouster of Morsi from office, and on June 8, 2014, he was sworn in to replace Morsi as president.