The move
represents a major escalation against the Muslim Brotherhood.
RIYADH (AFP) - Saudi Arabia on Friday listed the Muslim Brotherhood
and two Syrian jihadist groups as terrorist organisations, and ordered citizens
fighting abroad to return within 15 days or face imprisonment.
The move represents a major escalation against the Muslim
Brotherhood of deposed Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi and indicates rising
concern in Riyadh over the possible return of battle-hardened Saudi extremists
from Syria.
In addition to the Muslim Brotherhood, Saudi listed Al-Nusra Front,
which is Al-Qaeda s official Syrian affiliate, and the Islamic State of
Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a rogue group fighting in both Syria and Iraq, as
terrorist organisations.
The interior ministry decree, which was released by state media,
also listed as terrorist groups the Shiite Huthi rebels fighting in northern
Yemen and "Hezbollah inside the kingdom", apparently referring to a
little-known Saudi Shiite group.
The order penalises involvement in any of the groups
activities at home or abroad -- including demonstrations -- and outlaws the use
of "slogans of these organisations", including in social media.
It also forbids "participation in, calling for, or incitement
to fighting in conflict zones in other countries".
Riyadh is a staunch supporter of the Sunni-led rebels battling to
overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad but has long feared blowback from
radical jihadist groups, particularly after a spate of attacks by a local
Al-Qaeda franchise from 2003 to 2006.
King Abdullah last month decreed jail terms of up to 20 years for
belonging to "terrorist groups" and fighting abroad.
Similar sentences will be passed on those belonging to
"extremist religious and ideological groups, or those classified as
terrorist organisations, domestically, regionally and internationally,"
state news agency SPA said at the time.
Supporting such groups, adopting their ideology or promoting them
"through speech or writing" would also incur prison terms, the decree
added.
Rights group Amnesty International sharply criticised last
month s decree, saying it could be used to suppress peaceful political
dissent because the law used an "overly vague definition of
terrorism".
Saudi Arabia set up specialised terrorism courts in 2011 to try
dozens of nationals and foreigners accused of belonging to Al-Qaeda or being
involved in a wave of bloody attacks that swept the country from 2003.
- Rivalry with Qatar -
Saudi and other conservative Gulf monarchies have long been hostile
towards the Muslim Brotherhood, fearing that its brand of grass-roots activism
and political Islam could undermine their authority.
The decision to brand the Brotherhood a terrorist group came a day
after Saudi, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates recalled their ambassadors
from Qatar, which had been a staunch supporter of Morsi and backs
Brotherhood-linked groups across the region.
It was an unprecedented escalation of tensions within the Gulf
Cooperation Council -- which also includes Kuwait and Oman -- and was widely
seen as signalling Gulf fury at Qatari support for Islamist groups following
the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings.
It was also seen as a revival of the on-again, off-again rivalry
between Riyadh and Doha, oil- and gas-rich monarchies that have long vied for
regional influence.
Saudi hailed the overthrow of Morsi and pledged billions of dollars
to Egypt s military-installed government following his July 2013 ouster,
and in recent months has eclipsed Qatar as the main backer of Syria s
rebels.
Egypt, which has launched a sweeping crackdown on the Muslim
Brotherhood and detained reporters from Qatar s Al-Jazeera news network,
on Thursday welcomed the Gulf countries decision to recall their envoys
from Doha.
It said its own envoy, who has been in Cairo since early February,
"will not return to Qatar at the present time, and his remaining (in
Egypt) is a sovereign political decision".
"It is for Qatar to clearly determine its position, whether it
will stand on the side of Arab solidarity, unified ranks and protection of
national security... or on the other side, and bear the consequences and
responsibility for that," a government statement said.
Posted By:Muhammad Usaman
Source:dunya news
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