Security forces on alert for pro-Muslim Brotherhood protests

CAIRO – 16 June 2017: Egyptian security services are on high alert on Friday in anticipation of possible attacks after the banned Muslim brotherhood called for protesting against the newly-passed deal of maritime demarcation between Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

“The Ministry of Interior will firmly face any possible pro-Muslim Brotherhood protests or assembling,” a security official at the ministry said on Friday on condition of anonymity because he has no authority to brief the media.

The Sadat metro station, located beneath the iconic Tahrir Square of downtown Cairo, is closed to passengers on Friday due to “security concerns,” said Cairo Metro Company spokesperson Ahmed Abdul-Hady Friday morning.

“The Muslim Brotherhood calls on the Egyptian people …the members of the group, its members and cadres, the political forces and the national figures, both at home and abroad, for a day of anger, next Friday,” the group said in a statement on its official website, Ikhwanonline on Wednesday.

The group called for the immediate start of “a wave of protest and continuous demonstrations against” the deal giving the Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia, which was approved by the House of Representatives (Parliament) on Wednesday, the statement continued.

The deal of the Tiran and Sanafir islands, located at the entrance of the Gulf of Aqaba in the Red Sea, was opposed by many and even spurred lawyers to file a lawsuit against the government before the Administrative Court to annul the deal.

Two different court rulings have been issued regarding the agreement. The first, issued by the Supreme Administrative Court in January, nullified the agreement, while the second verdict, issued in April by the Summary Proceedings Court, ruled for its validity.
To settle the judicial dispute, the deal was referred to the Supreme Constitutional Court, which is the last judicial entity to consider it.