Prominent Global Muslim Brotherhood Leaders Sentenced In Absentia By Egyptian Military Tribunal

The Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood has announced that five overseas defendants in the military trial of Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood leaders have been sentenced in absentia to ten years in prison. These five individuals are:

1. Yusuf Nada

2. Fathi Al-Khouli

3. Tawfeek Al-Raey.

4. Ibrahim Farouk Al-Zayyat

5. Ali Ghaleb Hemmat

Yusuf Nada (aka Youssef Nada) is the well known, self-described “foreign minister” for the Brotherhood while Ali Ghaleb Hemmat (aka) Ali Ghaleb Himmat) is his long-time business partner. Both Nada and Himmat were leaders for many years in the German Muslim Brotherhood although living in Italy. They came to prominence following the 911 attacks when the U.S. government accused their Islamic bank, known as the Al Taqwa Bank, of helping to finance the activities of Osama Bin Laden. Prosecution of Nada and Al Taqwa has been dropped in Switzerland recently but Nada, Himmat, and Al Taqwa remain on the U.S. and other lists of designated terrorists. As a previous post has also reported, Italian terrorism funding charges against Nada and another Brotherhood figure were dropped in July 2007 due to lack of evidence.

Ibrahim Farouk Al-Zayyat (aka Ibrahim El-Zayat) is the current leader of the German Muslim Brotherhood as well as an important figure in the European Muslim Brotherhood organization known as the Federation of Islamic Organizations in Europe (FIOE). At the time the original Egyptian indictments were issued, El-Zayat denied being associated with the Brotherhood and his name disappeared from the Egyptian Brotherhood online lists of indicted Brotherhood leaders. The German domestic intelligence agency has for years listed El-Zayat and his German organization as associated with the Muslim Brotherhood.

Fathi Al Khouli has been described by a U.K. Brotherhood site as more than 87 years old and who left Egypt fifty years ago.

The Egyptian Brotherhood website also announced that of the 35 other Brotherhood leaders on trial, 15 were declared innocent while the remainder received sentences of 3-5 years including Khairat Al-Shater, second deputy chairman of the MB, Hassan Malek, a prominent businessman, and Dr. Mohamed Ali Bishr, member of the Brotherhood Guidance Bureau. The Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood condemned the sentences as excessive and said that almost 200 supporters were arrested by Egyptian security forces to prevent them from attending the last session against 40 other Brotherhood leaders referred to the military tribunal.