A Cairo court on Monday sentenced five businessmen connected to the banned Muslim Brotherhood to lengthy prison terms on charges of terrorism financing and membership in an illegal organization. The Supreme State Security Criminal Court handed life sentences to Wael Mohamed and Osama Hassan Orabi, while Ashraf Saleh, Ahmed Labib and Ismail Riyad each received 15-year terms. The court ordered all five placed under police supervision for five years after completing their sentences and maintained their designation as terrorist entities alongside the Brotherhood.
Prosecutors accused two defendants of leading a terrorist cell on behalf of the Brotherhood “with the aim of undermining state institutions, spreading false information, and supporting acts intended to destabilize Egypt.” The remaining three were charged as accomplices “with full knowledge” of the group’s purposes. Prosecutors alleged the businessmen used commercial networks to channel funds to Brotherhood activities and “to achieve the organization’s objectives through violence” during heated closing arguments delivered in November.
The verdict follows a protracted trial that began in 2021 and represents one of the most prominent convictions this year under Egypt’s crackdown on the Islamist movement. Since President Abdel Fattah El Sisi came to power in 2013, authorities have outlawed the Muslim Brotherhood, declared it a terrorist organization and prosecuted thousands of members and supporters. The movement’s leaders deny involvement in violence and claim political persecution, while the verdict remains subject to appeal at Egypt’s Court of Cassation.