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Mohamed Aboutrika
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Egyptian
authorities have seized share certificates belonging to former football star
Mohamed Aboutrika after allegations that a company he founded funded the
blacklisted Muslim Brotherhood, judicial officials said.
The move against one of the country’s most successful
sports stars comes amid a crackdown on members and supporters of the movement
since July 2013, when the army ousted president Mohamed Morsi , Egypt’s first
freely-elected leader.
Aboutrika had publicly endorsed Morsi’s 2012
presidential bid.
Aljazeera reports:
Morsi was overthrown in a military coup following
protests after just a year of civilian rule.
An ensuing police crackdown targeting his supporters
and his Muslim Brotherhood movement has left hundreds dead and thousands
jailed.
Authorities confiscated share certificates in
Aboutrika’s travel company Tours, which was formed when Morsi was in office, a
judicial official said.
The authorities allege that the company funded the
Muslim Brotherhood, which was blacklisted by the government as a “terrorist
group” in December 2013.
Assets of six other companies were also confiscated on
Thursday, and a court is expected to decide on the issue soon, officials said.
The move to seize Aboutrika’s shares sparked an outcry
on social networks, with the retired footballer’s fans condemning it.
Expressing defiance over the seizure, Aboutrika
himself tweeted: “Confiscate the money or confiscate the money’s owner, I will
not leave the country, and I will continue to work for its prosperity.”
A star of the Cairo-based
club Al-Ahly as well as the Egyptian national team, 36-year-old midfielder
Aboutrika retired in 2013, and since then has avoided expressing his political
views publicly.
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