Renowned political scholar charged with espionage, leading MB

Renowned political scholar charged with espionage, leading MB

By THE CAIRO POST

CAIRO:  Renowned scholar of political Islam Emad Shahin has been charged Wednesday with a host of charges, including “grand espionage,” and being a leading member of an outlawed organization (the Muslim Brotherhood).

Shahin was not placed under arrest, as he is currently abroad, but has issued an online statement, in which he refers to the charges as “baseless and politically motivated.” Charged in the same case is a long list of Brotherhood leaders, including former president Mohamed Morsi.

“I categorically and emphatically deny the charges,” a statement he issued said, adding that “For the record, I definitively state that I have never been a member of the Society of the Muslim Brothers at any point in my life, and I have never provided it with any financial or material support as alleged in the so-called indictment.”

The charges against Shahin come in the politically charged context following the June 30 events, in which a severe crackdown against Brotherhood members was followed by a series of arrests against secular political activists, some seemingly arbitrary, others with similar charges to Shahin’s.

The Cairo Post contacted Shahin following news of the charges, and he confirmed that he has not been placed under arrest as he is out of the country.

The charges against him stated he is currently “at large,” although Shahin confirms that he was never subpoenaed.

Among those charged is yet another renowned political scholar, Amr Hamzawy, as well as Alaa Abdel Fattah and Mostafa el-Naggar, in the case of insulting the judiciary. All have been placed on a travel watch-list.

Shahin, along with many of the activists and political thinkers currently facing charges, share the common ground of having been vocal against the current government’s policies against the Brotherhood and other political activists.

The professor currently teaches Public Policy at the American University in Cairo, and has previously taught at Harvard and Georgetown, amongst other universities. He is also the Editor-in-Chief of The Oxford Encyclopedia of Islam and Politics.

This piece was originally published in The Cairo Post

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