Egypt lists 35 Europe-based groups and 36 people for five years

The Cairo Criminal Court has ordered 35 Europe-based organisations and 36 individuals added to Egypt’s terrorism lists for five years, a decision published in the official gazette on November 10. The ruling applies under Egyptian law and does not itself make the named organisations illegal in Britain or elsewhere in Europe, where separate legal procedures govern any restrictions.

The organisations include the Council of European Muslims, the Muslim Association of Britain and the European Council for Fatwa and Research, as well as religious, educational and cultural groups in several European countries. The court’s decision also names individuals, including British-Iraqi activist Anas al-Tikriti, founder and chief executive of the Cordoba Foundation.

Al-Tikriti said Egyptian authorities had not contacted him before his name appeared in the gazette and that he received no explanation or evidence justifying his designation. He questioned the basis for the decision. The court’s grounds for including the organisations and individuals were not detailed in the reporting on the ruling.

The five-year listings followed a separate decision, reported as issued on November 9, that permanently...