Egypt, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Bahrain release third Qatar-linked terrorism list
Ahram Online, , Thursday 23 Nov 2017


Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain issued a joint statement late Wednesday designating two Islamic organizations and 11 individuals as being involved in terrorist activities and linking them to the Arab Gulf state Qatar.

The announcement comes as the third edition of a terrorism list first announced by the four countries in June, shortly after a diplomatic crisis arose between them and Qatar.

In the official statement, the four countries said that the two organizations, the International Islamic Council and the International Union of Muslim Scholars, use Islam as a cover for various terrorist activities, adding that both receive direct Qatari support.

The four states stressed that Qatari authorities continue to support and fund terrorism, as well as promote extremism and hate speech, adding that Qatari authorities have not undergone steps to suspend such activities.

11 people were also included on the updated list, among them five Egyptians, who are mostly prominent members of now-banned Muslim Brotherhood’s Guidance Office.

Mahmoud Ezzat, the MB's deputy Supreme Guide who fled Egypt in 2013 after a crackdown on the group, is among those included in the list.

The batch also includes the Brotherhood’s Mohamed Gamal Heshmat, Yehia Sayed Ibrahim Moussa, Kadri Mahmoud El-Sheikh and Alaa Ali El-Samahi.

The figures mentioned, all fugitives, have been handed a number of sentences by Egyptian courts stemming from their convictions in terrorism-related activities.

In June, the four Arab states severed diplomatic ties and transportation links with Qatar, accusing the oil-rich Gulf state of supporting terrorism and meddling in their internal affairs.

Doha has denied the accusations.

Shortly after severing ties, the four countries released the first edition of the list that included what it described as several terrorism financiers, including businessmen and politicians.

The list included Youssef El-Qaradawi, the 90-year-old Egyptian-Qatari scholar and spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood organization, which has been designated a terrorist organization by Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain.

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