Expelled Muslim Brotherhood leaders may head to Malaysia, says report

PETALING JAYA: Muslim Brotherhood leaders expelled from Qatar on Saturday are likely travel to Malaysia or Turkey, according to Asharq Al-Awsat, a London-based Arab daily.

It quoted International Muslim Brotherhood Organisation secretary-general Ibrahim Mounir, in a telephone interview from Morocco, as saying that he expected most of them asked to leave Qatar to head to Malaysia or Turkey, since many had already obtained visas or residency permits to either of these countries, "which will make their living or residing there an easy matter."

According to the report, the Muslim Brotherhood stated on Saturday that seven of its members currently residing in Qatar had been asked to leave the country by the Qatar authorities.

However, it said there was no official confirmation as yet from Doha regarding the decision.

But Muslim Brotherhood sources speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat stated that there had been "outside pressure" on Qatar to make the move, seen as an attempt to appease regional neighbours such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the UAE and Egypt, who have been angered by Doha's willingness to host senior members of the Brotherhood.

The report stated that Egypt now expects more Brotherhood figures to be expelled from Qatar, which became a prime destination for many of the group's members fleeing Egypt following the ouster of former president and senior Brotherhood figure Mohamed Mursi.

Egypt's Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim told a press conference in Cairo on Sunday that Egypt would contact Interpol regarding those men, as some of them are still wanted in Egypt in connection with a number of criminal cases.

Asharq Al-Awsat also quoted an Egyptian security source with knowledge of the situation as saying that Egypt will "use Red notices (international arrest warrants) for these wanted individuals, and… we have already informed Interpol about their names… so they can be arrested once they are moving between countries."

Ibrahim also stated that Egypt expected the members expelled on Saturday could head to London or Turkey, "as there are no agreements between these countries and Egypt for the arrest of individuals wanted (in Egypt) for criminal (acts)."

But Mounir told Asharq Al-Awsat that he thought it unlikely London or Switzerland would be a next destination for the members, "unless they had already obtained the necessary paperwork to enter and reside in these countries."

Mounir stated that he was unaware if Brotherhood secretary-general Mahmoud Hussein, the second-highest ranking member of the organisation after deputy-general guide Mahmoud Ezzat - also on the list of those expelled from Qatar - had obtained a visa to enter the UK.

In addition to Hussein, the list of those figures expelled also includes Amr Darag, a former minister in the government under Mursi, and Hamza Zobag, the official spokesman for the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), the group's now-dissolved political wing, the report added.