File photo: Assem Abdel-Maged, a leading figure of the ultra-conservative Al-Jamaa Al-Islamiya, during a press conference held by the Islamist group to unveil its political party (Photo: Sherif Tarek).
Egypt's Justice Ministry sent a request to Qatari authorities to arrest Egyptian Al-Gamaa Al-Islamiya leader Assem Abdel-Maged, who fled the country following the ouster of former Islamist president Mohamed Morsi.
A Justice Ministry source told Ahram Online that the request included references to an extradition treaty signed by Egypt and Qatar requiring the Gulf state to apprehend Abdel-Maged, as he stands charged by Egyptian authorities -- along with dozens of top Muslim Brotherhood leaders -- with inciting violence following the forced police dispersal of two large pro-Morsi protest camps.
Notorious for regularly delivering heated speeches at the protest camps, during which he overtly threatened the masses of anti-Morsi protesters who'd taken to the streets, Abdel-Maged was a popular and inspirational figure among supporters of the Islamist president.
Making an appearance in Qatar, Abdel-Maged warned in December that the "coup" ruling Egypt will fail.
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