German FM Slams Egyptian Govt For Muslim Brotherhood Ban

Berlin, Dec 28, IRNA - New German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier here Saturday lashed out at Egypts military-backed government for outlawing the Muslim Brotherhood. He stressed in a statement that labeling the Muslim Brotherhood a terror organization and criminalizing all its members wont help restore peace to the conflict-stricken country. Steinmeier said the situation in Egypt could only calm down, once all societal groups are participating in the political process, leading to what he termed a new constitutional and democratic legitimacy. On Wednesday, the Egyptian government declared ousted president Mohammed Mursis Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist group. Under Egyptian law, terrorism-related charges carry the death penalty, while people who participate in Brotherhood protests could face up to five years in prison. The decision came only a day after a suicide car bombing that targeted a police headquarters in the Nile Delta city of Mansoura killed 16 people. The government claimed the attack had been carried out by the Brotherhood, which in turn, condemned the attack and accused the government of further inciting unrest in the country. Hundreds of people have been killed in Egypt's violence since July when the army overthrew Mursi, the country's first democratically elected president. Thousands of Islamists, including senior Brotherhood leaders, have been detained on charges of inciting violence./end