Egyptian media is reporting that Mohammed Mahdi Akef, the former Supreme Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood, has been arrested along with four of his guards. According to an Al–Ahram report:
Mohammed Mahdi Akef
4 Jul 2013 The Muslim Brotherhood’s former supreme guide Mahdi Akef has been arrested along with four of his guards, security sources say. Egypt prosecutors ordered on Thursday the arrest of a number of senior Muslim Brotherhood members hours after the army removed Mohamed Morsi from his post as president.
Late on Wednesday, Saad El-Katatni, leader of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), and Rashad Bayoumi, the Islamist movement’s deputy head, were detained, security officials said.
They are being held in Tora Prison, which, located on the outskirts of Cairo, is the same prison where ousted president Hosni Mubarak and his sons are detained, state news agency MENA reported.
Security authorities are continuing their efforts to arrest Brotherhood members on charges of inciting violence and disturbing general security and peace, MENA reported.
Akef, who was resident in Germany during the 1980’s, is famous for his incendiary rhetoric including numerous anti-American, anti-Semitic, and other remarks. For example, in November 2007 Akef denied the existence of Al Qaeda calling the organization an “American invention” while attributing Islamic sectarian violence to “American Zionist tricks.” He was replaced in January 2012 as Brotherhood Supreme Guide by Mohammed Badie who was himself ordered arrested last week.
