Egypt’s public prosecutor has frozen the assets of 14 Islamist leaders, according to judicial sources. The Muslim Brotherhood head Mohammed Badie and his deputy Khairat al-Shater are reported to be among them. Mr Badie and other Brotherhood figures are already the subject of arrest warrants, while the ousted President Mohammed Morsi remains in custody. On Sunday, army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi defended the decision to remove him from power.
In a speech, he also said no group would be barred from politics: “Every political force… must realise that an opportunity is available for everyone in political life and no ideological movement is prevented from participating.”
The decision by Egypt’s public prosecutor Hisham Barakat to freeze the assets of senior Islamists is part of an ongoing investigation into deadly clashes that have happened since President Morsi was ousted.
According to Egypt’s state-run Channel 1 TV, the leader of the Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party Mohammed Saad al-Katani has also been affected, along with senior figures in rival Islamist groups.
