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Amr Abdallah Dalsh / Reuters
Egyptian presidential frontrunner Gen. Abdel Fattah El Sisi appeared to rule out any let up on the crackdown on Muslim Brotherhood activities, raising the specter of a prolonged conflict with a group he said was "finished."
The remarks came ahead of a development Tuesday that saw an Egyptian court ban the leaders of ex-president Hosni Mubarak's party from running in any coming elections.
Sisi said in his first televised interview on Monday that the Muslim Brotherhood, which won all five elections since Mubarak's ouster, was "finished" and would cease to exist if he becomes president.
Sisi, who ousted the Brotherhood's Mohamed Morsi from the presidency last July after mass protests against Morsi's rule, accused the Brotherhood of links to violent militant groups, adding that two plots to assassinate him had been uncovered.
"I want to tell you that it is not me that finished (the Brotherhood). You, the Egyptians, are the ones who finished it," Sisi said in a joint interview with Egypt's privately owned CBC and ONTV television channels broadcast on Monday.
Asked whether the Brotherhood would cease to exist during his presidency, Sisi answered: "Yes. That's right."
The Brotherhood, which says it is committed to peaceful activism, has accused Sisi of staging a coup and masterminding the removal of Morsi, Egypt's first freely elected president.
Sisi is expected to easily win the May 26-27 presidential election. The only other candidate is leftist politician Hamdeen Sabahi, who came third in the 2012 election won by Morsi.
Meanwhile, in his ruling on Tuesday, Judge Karim Hazem did not spell out the number, names or titles of those Mubarak-era officials affected, prompting accusations by opposition activists of ambiguity that could end up allowing some candidacies from the old regime to run for office.
"The ruling was not clear and did not respond to our demand. We want the judiciary to punish those who committed crimes, both political and criminal ones, and not all and everyone," prominent Egyptian activist and lawyer Gamal Eid said.
Tuesday's case was brought to court a few months ago by a liberal lawyer. Judicial sources told Reuters the judge was unable to name the officials that the ruling would be applied to and left that task to the elections committee.
Reuters
Announcement comes after the former defense minister formally resigned his post at a military council meeting
Three years out from the revolution that toppled dictator Mubarak, the country is set to elect another strongman.
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