Internal divisions within the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) opposition movement appear to have escalated, with Khaled Dawood, spokesman for the group’s internal opposition front, filing a complaint on Monday with the attorney-general against brotherhood MP Hamdi Hassan.
Dawood accuses Hassan of questioning his financial integrity in recent interviews with two local newspapers, and has requested that Hassan's parliamentary immunity be lifted and that the parliamentarian be charged with libel.
Dawood has reported Hassan to the group’s Guidance Bureau, but says he provided Hassan with a chance to apologizes before filing the complaint.
“I'll withdraw my complaint if Hassan makes a public apology,” he said.
Hassan, for his part, denied having offended Dawood in any way.
“The subject is closed,” he said. “I don’t want to talk about it any more.”
Guidance Bureau member Mohamed Hassan al-Katatni, for his part, called on MB members to resolve the matter amicably. ‘It was a misunderstanding,” he said.
In related news, 13 group members were arrested in Sharqiya while campaigning for MB candidates in next month's parliamentary elections. Within recent weeks, a total of 164 members of the group have been arrested.
“If police continue to arrest us this way, we will retaliate,” al-Katatni warned.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
