CAIRO – A judicial official says a panel of judges has recommended the dissolution of the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's largest political group. The panel said Monday in a recommendation to Egypt's administrative court that the Brotherhood has operated in violation of the law. The recommendation isn't binding to the court, which holds its next hearing on Nov. 12. It appears, however, a step closer to banning the group. While short of a formal ban on the Brotherhood, which worked underground for decades under Egypt's previous military-backed rulers, the panel's advice to a court to remove its NGO status threatens the million-member movement's future in politics. An attack on a police station in central Cairo and plans for new mass protests by the Brotherhood on Tuesday showed the stability the interim government says it took over to impose after two and a half years of turmoil is still elusive. At least 900 people, most of them Islamist supporters of ousted Mohamed Morsi, have been killed since the army takeover on July 3. The government has accused the Brotherhood of inciting violence and terrorism, and arrested its leaders. Egypt's oldest political organization, the Brotherhood won a series of elections after protesters forced out Hosni Mubarak in 2011, culminating in last year's presidential vote. It formally registered itself in March as a non-governmental organization (NGO) to secure its legal status. The judicial panel backed Brotherhood opponents who argued that the NGO registration was illegal because the Brotherhood-led government had effectively issued a license to itself. The panel's recommendation adds to a whole array of steps taken against the Brotherhood since the army stepped in after mass protests against economic mismanagement and attempts to entrench the movement's power during Morsi's rule. The Brotherhood operates in the political arena as the Freedom and Justice Party. – Agencies
