Zomor headed back to prison

Arrest warrants have been issued for Jama'a al-Islamiya leaders Tarek al-Zomor and Assem Abdel Maged, as well as 133 other members of the hardline Islamist group, the independent newspaper Al-Shorouk reported on Thursday.

Banha Chief Prosecutor Ahmed Abdel Nasser issued the order after receiving a report from Central National Security alleging Zomor and Abdel Maged had received funds to buy arms for the group’s members, and incited violence in Qalyubiya, the paper reported.

According to the security body’s investigations, violence erupted in Qalyubiya on August 30 when Muslim Brotherhood protesters clashed with area residents, leading to three police stations going up in flames in Shabeen al-Khom and Khanka.

Zomor was convicted in 1981 of helping to plan the assassination of former President Anwar Sadat, and spent years in prison before being released by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces in March 2011. After leaving prison, he formed the Jama’a al-Islamiya’s political arm, the Construction and Development Party.

Also on Thursday, the Fayoum prosecution extended the detention of six Muslim Brotherhood members accused of inciting violence against the police, reported the privately owned Al-Masry Al-Youm.