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How did the Egyptian government suppress Muslim Brotherhood protests after Mohamed Morsi was removed?
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Muslim Brotherhood
Hassan al-Banna, a schoolteacher in Ismailia, Egypt, founded the Muslim Brotherhood in 1928 as an attempt to modernize Islamic society.
Following the removal of Mohamed Morsi in July 2013, the Egyptian government initiated a severe and systematic crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood. This suppression involved several aggressive measures:
- Violent Dispersal of Protests: Security forces repeatedly used lethal force against demonstrators. On July 8, 2013, forces fired on protesters outside a military base in Cairo, killing at least 50 people. On July 27, another rally resulted in nearly 100 deaths. The violence peaked on August 14, when security forces raided sit-ins, including one at the Rabaa al-Adawiya Mosque, killing more than 1,000 people over several days.12
- Legal and Administrative Bans: In September 2013, a court formally restored a ban on the organization, freezing its activities and those of its affiliates. The government also designated the group a terrorist organization.13
- Mass Arrests and Trials: Authorities conducted widespread arrests of the group's leadership and members. Many were subjected to mass trials, resulting in numerous life and death sentences, including hundreds of death sentences passed in a single 2014 trial.1
- Media Suppression: The government shut down media outlets associated with the organization.12