Egypt arrests supreme leader of Muslim Brotherhood amid crackdown on protests
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Egypt on Tuesday announced the arrest of the supreme leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, dealing another blow to the group as it struggles to maintain order amid a tough crackdown by authorities, who are looking to quell protests in the wake of President Mohammed Morsi’s ouster.
Mohammed Badie was arrested in an apartment at the eastern Cairo district of Nasr City, close to the location of the six-week sit-in protest by supporters of Morsi, who also hails from the Islamist group. The encampment was cleared by security forces last Wednesday, along with another protest site in Giza, in a raid that killed hundreds of people.
Badie’s arrest is the latest stage in an escalating crackdown by authorities on the Brotherhood in which hundreds have also been arrested.
His detention came “after information came to the security apparatus locating his place of hiding,” Reuters quoted Egypt’s state news agency as saying.
Badie, known as the Brotherhood’s General Guide, and his powerful deputy Khairat el-Shater, who is in custody, go on trial later this month for their alleged role in the killing of eight protesters outside the Brotherhood’s Cairo headquarters in June.
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