Convicted MB member in Spain avoids deportation to Cairo

CAIRO – 7 May 2017: Egyptian Imam linked to the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) group in Spain, Alaa Mohamed Said, is trying to reach a compromise with the Spanish government and judiciary to avoid deportation to Egypt after he was labeled as a threat to the national security, according to La Rioja newspaper.

It was added that Said was proved to receive financial aid of up to € 1.5 million from Qatar as part of his activity as an MB member in Logroñ city, Spain.

Said's deportation to Cairo was supposed to take place last week; however, according to La Rioja newspaper, his lawyer filed a request to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg to avoid the decision issued by the Spanish judiciary.

The Egyptian imam has started a hunger strike earlier, but he abandoned it during his detention in Spain’s immigration detention center, (Aluche), in Madrid.

Said is trying to avoid his deportation to Egypt in every possible way, as he filed for asylum in Spain; he is trying to reach a compromise with the government to head to Turkey or Qatar instead of Egypt, according to La Rioja.

Qatar has been in the hot water since June 2017, when Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain decided to cut ties with it, accusing it of destabilizing the region with its support for Islamist groups.

The Arab quartet halted all land, air and sea traffic with Qatar, and withdrew their diplomats and ambassadors from the country.

The Muslim Brotherhood group was labeled as a terrorist group by the Egyptian government in December 2013. Accordingly, all of its activities were banned and all of its members were arrested and trialed by the law.