Egyptian court bans Muslim Brotherhood

An Egyptian court on Monday banned the Muslim Brotherhood and ordered its assets seized, according to an announcement on Egyptian state television.

The ruling comes amid a broad crackdown against supporters of ousted Islamist president Mohammed Morsi by the military-backed government.

The leftist Tagammu Party filed a complaint demanding the dissolution of the Muslim Brotherhood and seizure of its assets. Party lawyer Mahmoud Abdallah argued the Muslim Brotherhood carried out terrorist operations in Egypt and used religious slogans in politics.

Though the Brotherhood had been officially banned for most of its 85 years of existence, the group was allowed to openly rise to power after the 2011 ouster of Hosni Mubarak. The Brotherhood formed a political party and won seats in a series of elections.

In March, the Brotherhood registered as a non-governmental organization. The ruling revokes the group's NGO status.

The ruling can be appealed, but authorities are now able to investigate the Muslim Brotherhood's network of social services and grass roots support.

As part of a separate complaint, a court in Alexandria is expected to decide on December 23 whether the Muslim Brotherhood should be labeled as a terrorist group. The complaint calls on Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy to submit a request to the UN and EU to label the Brotherhood as a terrorist organization and ban its members from traveling between different countries.