Published Friday, March 7, 2014
Saudi Arabia has formally designated the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist group, official Saudi television reported citing a statement by the Interior Ministry.The kingdom has also designated al-Nusra Front and the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, whose fighters are battling in Syria, as terrorist organizations.
The interior ministry decree, which was released by state media, also listed as terrorist groups the Huthi rebels fighting in northern Yemen and "Hezbollah inside the kingdom," apparently referring to a little-known Saudi Shia group.
The order penalizes involvement in any of the groups' activities at home or abroad -- including demonstrations -- and outlaws the use of "slogans of these organizations," including in social media.It also forbids "participation in, calling for, or incitement to fighting in conflict zones in other countries."
Friday's move appeared to enforce last month's royal decree where Riyadh said it would jail for between three and 20 years any citizen who fought guilty of fighting in conflicts abroad.
The kingdom's authorities want to deter Saudis from joining rebels in Syria and posing a security risk once they return home.
In Egypt, the Brotherhood, which won every election following the toppling of Hosni Mubarak in 2011, has been driven underground since the army deposed President Mohammed Mursi, a longtime member of the group that also endured repression in the Mubarak era.
The army-backed government in Cairo designated the Brotherhood as a terrorist group in December after accusing it of carrying out a suicide bomb attack on a police station that killed 16 people. The Brotherhood condemned that attack and denies using violence.
Saudi Arabia's Islamic religious authorities have previously spoken out against Saudi fighters going to Syria, but the Saudi Interior Ministry estimates that around 1,200 Saudis have gone there nonetheless.
(Reuters, AFP)