Britain’s government is considering banning the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, according to a report Tuesday, over concerns the group is behind terrorist attacks in Egypt.
Brotherhood leader Mohamed Morsy was ousted as Egypt’s first democratically elected President last year by the military and the group has since been blamed by Cairo for a wave of attacks.
The Brotherhood insists it is a peaceful organization with no links to violence.
Egyptian authorities have launched a crackdown on Islamists since July, during which hundreds were killed and thousands injured.
Last months, a court in southern Egypt handed down death sentences to 529 alleged backers of Morsy over rioting and killing a police officer in August, drawing strong condemnations from human rights organizations.
A verdict is expected on April 28 for a further 683 defendants on trial under similar charges.
According to The Times newspaper in London, Prime Minister David Cameron has ordered intelligence agencies to review the Islamist group’s operations in Britain.
One of the key incidents under review is an attack in February against tourists in the Sinai peninsula, which killed four people.
Since being banned in Egypt, the Brotherhood has moved some of its operations to Britain.
The British review is being handled by the country’s top diplomat in Saudi Arabia.
Riyadh, historically hostile to organized political Islamic movements, this year declared the Muslim Brotherhood to be a terrorist organization and the monarchy has supported Egypt’s military rulers.
Meanwhile, al—Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula — the networks’s Yemen—based branch — released a new video in which they mocked the Saudi government as being a pawn of the United States.
AQAP condemned the ban on the Brotherhood and said it was a sign the Saudi government would never tolerate Islamist groups.
“The infidels will not accept them until they give up everything associated with Islam,” the terrorist group said.
The video was released following US President Barack Obama’s visit to Saudi Arabia over the weekend.
AQAP has hundreds of Saudi and other foreign fighters in its ranks and is considered one of the most dangerous branches of al—Qaeda.
