Egypt summons Qatari envoy over Brotherhood comments

By Nehal El-Sherif and Ramadan Al-Fatash, dpa
04.01.2014

Cairo (dpa) - Egypt on Saturday summoned Qatar's ambassador over Doha's condemnation of the crackdown on the now outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, in a move seen as further straining ties between the two Arab countries.

An Egyptian foreign ministry official said the diplomat had been informed that Cairo was displeased at Qatar's "interference in Egypt's internal affairs."

Qatar, which is a staunch backer of ousted Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi, a leading member of the Brotherhood, had accused  Egypt's military-backed authorities of pursuing an "oppressive" clampdown on backers of the Islamist leader.

The accusation came after at least 17 people were killed in clashes between the Egyptian police and Brotherhood backers, the highest daily death toll in nearly three months, according to media reports.

Relations between Cairo and Doha have deteriorated since July, when the army deposed Morsi following massive protests against his one-year rule.

Egyptian officials and pro-army media accuse Qatar and the Doha-based broadcaster Al Jazeera of being biased towards the Brotherhood.

Earlier this week, Egypt detained four journalists working for Al Jazeera on charges of broadcasting news that allegedly damaged the country’s reputation.

Authorities outlawed the Brotherhood in September and declared it a terrorist group in December.

Under Egyptian law, terrorism-related charges carry the death penalty.

The group's backers have staged almost daily protests since the ouster of Morsi, Egypt's first democratically elected president.

Hundreds have since been killed in violence in Egypt.

The latest unrest came ahead of a January 14-15 referendum on a draft constitution. Morsi's supporters reject the charter and voted to boycott the vote.