The April 6 youth movement has hit back at recent claims by Major-General Hassan El-Roweiny, a member of Egypt’s ruling military council, that the group accepted foreign funding.

Allegations of foreign funding surfaced in July when El-Roweiny, in a televised appearance, asserted that the movement – despite its undeniable role in Egypt’s January revolution – had been funded by foreign countries and had foreign agendas.

According to April 6 spokesman Mohamed Affifi, the movement, in a bid to prove its innocence, has filed a case with the prosecutor-general against some of its own members, urging him to investigate them for any possible wrongdoing. Affifi, however, said that none of its members had yet been called in for questioning even though the complaint was lodged four months ago.

“El-Roweiny’s language has changed when he talks about the movement,” noted Affifi. “He has gone from accusing the entire movement of being agents and accepting foreign funding to talking about how some members were being investigated without actually citing charges. This is different than previously, when he spoke with confidence as if he had evidence against the movement.”

Affifi added that an investigating committee at the Ministry of Justice had previously absolved the group of the accusations.

“General El-Roweiny did not have any evidence against movement members,” he stressed. “But we won’t blame the military council since it was not aware of the political situation in Egypt before the revolution. But from now on, it should investigate first before making accusations without evidence.”