Jordan’s top court dissolves local branch of Muslim Brotherhood

AMMAN, Jordan — Jordan’s top court has dissolved the country’s branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, a transnational Islamist group, an official says, citing the group’s failure to “rectify its legal status.”

“The Court of Cassation yesterday issued a final verdict ruling that the Muslim Brotherhood group is dissolved and has lost its legal status, for failing to rectify its legal status under Jordanian law,” the official says, requesting anonymity.

The Muslim Brotherhood, founded in Egypt in 1928, is a pan-Islamic movement with both charitable and political arms.

It has faced years of pressure, especially in the wake of the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings, and has been outlawed as a terrorist group in Egypt and banned in several other countries.

Amman had tolerated the group’s political arm for decades, but since 2014 authorities have considered it illegal, arguing its license was not renewed under a 2014 law on political parties.

Sheikh Hamza Mansur, head of the organisation’s ruling council, says the group would appeal against the ruling.

“The Muslim Brotherhood … is a model of moderation and an important element in strengthening national unity, so dissolving it is not in the national interest,” he tells AFP.

The Jordanian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood has wide grassroots support in the kingdom.

— AFP