Turkey eyes closer Egypt ties with crackdown on Muslim Brotherhood

Middle East Eye

2 days ago

Turkey has deported an Egyptian citizen accused of membership in the Muslim Brotherhood, Middle East Eye has learned.
Mohamed Abdelhafiz, a long-term legal resident of Turkey, was detained at Istanbul Airport on Monday upon returning from a business trip to Africa.
The Muslim Brotherhood is proscribed as a terrorist organisation in Egypt and was the subject of an intense crackdown after a military coup there in 2013.
Thousands of members and sympathisers of the group fled Egypt in the aftermath of the coup, with many seeking refuge in Turkey.
Turkish sources familiar with the case told MEE that a no-entry ban had been imposed on Abdelhafiz, triggering his automatic deportation to a third country.
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Ankara typically refrains from deporting individuals to nations where they risk ill-treatment or the death penalty.
However, the move suggests the Turkish government has taken an unprecedented decision to move against Abdelhafiz.
'Hasm' movement
Egyptian officials accuse Abdelhafiz of being a member of the Hasm movement, which Cairo claims is an armed wing of the Muslim Brotherhood.
His detention and deportation coincided with Egypt's announcement on Monday that it had thwarted an attack allegedly planned by Hasm.
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Last year, Ankara reconciled its relationship with Cairo after years of supporting the Muslim Brotherhood.
Current Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi led a 2013 military coup that ousted the country's first democratically elected president, Mohamed Morsi.
Since then, many Egyptian dissidents who found refuge in Turkey have faced increasing pressure, including the forced closure of TV channels such as Mekameleen, which were compelled to relocate their operations to Europe in 2022.
Gulden Sonmez, Abdelhafiz's lawyer, told MEE that Ankara's decision to deport her client to a third country was a mistake.
'He could still be deported to Egypt from a third nation, given that Cairo now has extradition treaties or other agreements with many regional countries to ensure their return,' she said.
For this reason, Abdelhafiz's current location remains undisclosed to protect him from further deportation and potential rights violations.
There is growing anxiety among Egyptian dissidents living in Turkey, who report an escalating crackdown as part of Ankara's broader anti-immigrant policies.
Sonmez concurs, noting that recent developments suggest a deliberate policy of detaining Egyptian citizens and placing them in deportation centres for the foreseeable future.
On Monday, Al Arabiya reported ongoing security contacts between Cairo and Ankara regarding the extradition of Muslim Brotherhood members allegedly involved in terrorist activities in Egypt.
The channel added that Egypt had provided Turkey with a security file detailing Muslim Brotherhood members 'planning terrorist operations'.
Gokhan Cinkara, a regional affairs academic at Necmettin Erbakan University, said that Egypt appears to have reopened the Muslim Brotherhood file, which it had set aside during the recent rapprochement period.
'Security coordination between Egypt and Turkey is critically important in regions such as Libya, Syria and the Gulf,' he told MEE.
Haftar rapprochement
One key aspect of this cooperation concerns Libya. Khalifa Haftar, the de facto ruler of eastern Libya and a close ally of Cairo, has recently sought to improve relations with Ankara.
As part of this realignment, Haftar has reportedly initiated steps to ratify a maritime agreement with Turkey through Libya's House of Representatives, based in Tobruk.
If finalised, the move could bolster Ankara's claims in the Eastern Mediterranean, particularly against Greece.
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MEE has reported that Cairo is opposed to Haftar's move to ratify the deal.
'While it is difficult to predict what strain the cases of Abdelhafiz and six other wanted individuals might place on Turkey-Egypt relations, it is clear that Turkey wishes to maintain its diplomatic momentum,' Cinkara added.
'At the same time, the ruling AK Party is cautious not to alienate segments of its traditional voter base with such actions.'
An Egyptian security official told The National this week that Turkey has so far refused to hand over several high-ranking Muslim Brotherhood members, despite their alleged involvement in violent operations targeting Egyptian officials.
Instead, Ankara has opted to restrict their activities within Turkey rather than extradite them to face charges in Egypt.
Figures such as Yahya Moussa and Alaa al-Samahi, both named in an Egyptian interior ministry statement, are still believed to be living in Turkey, according to the official.