Egypt arrest several after raiding former president Morsi’s hometown

The village of El–Edwa in the Sharqeya governorate was raided by police forces on Tuesday, leading to the storming of several houses and the arrest of former Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated parliament member Ahmed Ezz, among others.

The police said Wednesday that the raid was approved by the prosecution which ordered the arrest of “several members of the Brotherhood on charges of inciting violence and protesting”. The Ministry of Interior’s media centre could not confirm the exact number of detainees.

Hussien Saleh of the Muslim Brotherhood’s media centre said on his official social media page that around 100 armoured vehicles were used in the raid.

Saleh added that the house of former president Mohamed Morsi’s sister was raided and that the residents were harassed. He added that the raid was due to the “powerful wave of protests against the crimes of the military on the anniversary of the Rabaa Al-Adaweya and Al-Nahda massacres”.

The Egyptian Coordination of Rights and Freedoms said that the raid targeted 10 houses. The group also said that “houses were looted and EGP 2m were stolen”.

The police, however, did not mention any information about monetary confiscation.

El–Edwa is the hometown of Morsi, and has been acting as one of the many villages that organise weekly protests against the government and security forces. It has been raided numerous times and witnessed violent confrontations between protesters and riot police.

Al Bawaba