CAIRO
The Egyptian government has finalized draft legislation that would allow for the dissolution of organizations officially classified as "terrorist entities."
"The Egyptian Legal Reforms Committee has sent the draft to the cabinet [on Tuesday] before submitting it to President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, who will decree it as law," Transitional Justice Minister Ibrahim al-Heneidi told reporters in Cairo.
He described the bill as "procedural" and complimentary to the country's penal code.
Al-Heneidi said the proposed law was comprised of ten articles laying down the legal requirements for listing organizations – and their members – as "terrorist."
He added that a court order was needed for the inclusion of persons or organizations on Egypt's proposed terrorist listing.
The inclusion of Egyptian citizens on the proposed terrorist listing would entail a travel ban, while the inclusion of a foreigner on the list would result in the confiscation of his or her passport.
Moreover, the bill gives the Egyptian government the right to freeze the assets of any individuals who are added to the terrorist list.
Under the new bill, any groups dubbed "terrorist organizations" would have their activities banned and offices shut, according to al-Heneidi.
Membership in or financing of the organization would also be banned under the new legislation.
Al-Heneidi said the prosecutor-general would have the right to request the addition of the Muslim Brotherhood and other outlawed groups to the new terrorist listing.
The court would then have one week to ratify or reject the request.
Al-Heneidi added that the Brotherhood's inclusion in the soon-to-be-issued terrorist listings would prohibit the group's members from taking part in political life.
This would prevent Brotherhood members from running in upcoming parliamentary polls, which will take place in March and April.
The Egyptian government has waged a deadly campaign against the Muslim Brotherhood since the 2013 ouster and imprisonment of elected president and Brotherhood leader Mohamed Morsi by the army.
Hundreds of Brotherhood supporters have been killed or injured – and thousands thrown behind bars – amid the ongoing crackdown, which has also widened to include some non-Islamist dissenters.
In December of 2013, the Egyptian cabinet designated the Brotherhood a "terrorist organization," creating legal ambiguity regarding the decades-old group's legal status, since the decision had not been issued by the judiciary.
The Brotherhood, whose supporters continue to demand Morsi's reinstatement, insists it is committed to purely peaceful activism.
