Turkey’s arrest of Muslim Brotherhood leader signals commitment to warming Egypt bond

Arrest of Mohamed Abdel Hafiz follows thwarted plot by Brotherhood armed wing in Cairo

Muslim Brotherhood suspect Mohamed Abdel Hafiz was arrested at Istanbul Airport late on Monday. AFP

Turkey's arrest of a Muslim Brotherhood figure wanted in Egypt reveals a growing commitment to improving ties with Cairo and developing “neighbourly bonds” with Arab countries, experts have told The National.

Mohamed Abdel Hafiz, who was detained at Istanbul Airport on Monday night, is central to allegations of orchestrating terrorist plots in Egypt, including the assassination of the prosecutor-general Hisham Barakat in 2016, and plans to target President Abdel Fattah El Sisi's plane in 2022.

He is also an alleged architect of the recent resurgence in Egypt of the Hasm Movement, an armed wing of the Brotherhood that has carried out several attacks on Egyptian officials. The group has been largely silent since 2019 amid a crackdown on the Brotherhood. But the arrest in Turkey came a day after Egypt's Interior Ministry went public with an alleged plot by Hasm to attack “civil and economic institutions”.

Two militants and one civilian were killed during an anti-terror raid by the Egyptian interior ministry which took place on July 7 but was only made public on Sunday. The ministry also shared a list of five Brotherhood leaders living in Turkey, including Mr Abdel Hafiz, who it alleged were the brains behind the thwarted attacks.

The swift arrest of Mr Abdel Hafiz in Turkey, confirmed by his wife on his official Facebook page, has been widely interpreted as a signal from Ankara that it is taking reconciliation with Egypt seriously. His wife's statement said they were told he would be extradited to Egypt.

Rakha Ahmed Hassan, a former deputy foreign minister and current member of the Egyptian Foreign Affairs Council, called the arrest “a strong signal that Turkey does not want any doubt over its intentions towards its Arab neighbours and their national security concerns”.

These developments come against the backdrop of a recent rapprochement between Egypt and Turkey that followed years of strained relations, primarily due to Ankara's support for the Muslim Brotherhood. Mr El Sisi outlawed it as a terrorist organisation following the 2013 removal of former president Mohamed Morsi, the Brotherhood's candidate.

“The arrest shows that both sides are prioritising their renewed ties. Neither Egypt nor Turkey is interested in returning to the discord of previous years,” Mr Hassan said.

New Brotherhood policy

Turkey’s decision to arrest Mr Abdel Hafiz is part of a broader pivot in its approach to the Muslim Brotherhood, a group it once offered refuge and a platform to. Starting in 2022, amid an economic downturn and a need to repair relations with Gulf nations, Ankara began scaling back its support for the Brotherhood, Mr Hassan said.

“Turkey has already taken great steps to limit the influence of the Brotherhood and its reach,” he said. “Hundreds had their Turkish nationalities revoked and the most prominent have left Turkey over the past few years, with many of the country’s media personalities now being in London and several European cities.”

Furthermore, the rapprochement has been gradual, involving multiple rounds of deft political manoeuvring, according to Mr Hassan, which means neither side will want to lose it over “meaningless remnants of a once-powerful force”.

“Even when political ties were strained, Turkish companies continued operating in Egypt. Trade and financial relations have remained steady since the 2006 free trade agreement,” he said.

Turkey has historically backed the Muslim Brotherhood but has recently sought to improve relations with countries where the group is outlawed. AFP

Trade relations

Both sides are now seeking to expand bilateral trade from $9 billion to $15 billion, according to a June speech by Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty from Istanbul, made on the sidelines of a meeting with Turkish business leaders.

While Mr Abdel Hafiz’s detention has been seen as a goodwill gesture, questions remain about whether Turkey will answer Cairo’s full demands and extradite him and other wanted Brotherhood figures to serve sentences.

According to an Egyptian security official who spoke to The National on condition of anonymity, Turkey has so far refused to hand over several high-ranking Brotherhood members despite their involvement in violent operations targeting Egyptian officials, choosing instead to limit their activities internally without giving them over to answer for their crimes in Egypt.

The official said figures such as Yahya Moussa and Alaa El Samahi, both named in Egypt's interior ministry statement, are still believed to be living in Turkey. The others on the list have been convicted for masterminding plots such as a 2019 car bombing in Alexandria and other assassination attempts.

However, the official said that after the latest thwarted attacks, the Egyptian side has received strong signals that Ankara will co-operate. “This is a significant shift from the years when Turkey actively sheltered Brotherhood leaders and allowed its soil to be used as a base for anti-Egyptian activities,” he added.

The anti-terror raid, carried out in the Giza district of Boulaq Dakrour, was against a cell allegedly planning co-ordinated attacks on security and economic facilities. Two militants were killed in the operation, and a civilian passer-by lost his life in the crossfire. The ministry said the cell had been under surveillance for weeks, after it was made aware that one of the militants had crossed into Egypt from “a border nation”.

Both militants are believed to have smuggled weapons and received advanced military training abroad.

The Hasm Movement, once a formidable threat, has seen its operational capabilities dwindle in recent years due to sustained crackdowns by Egyptian authorities. Mr Hassan views its latest resurgence as an attempt by “remnants of the Brotherhood” to show continued relevance.

The Egyptian security official also dismissed Hasm’s activities as “minor,” noting that “these splinter groups are poorly resourced and are easily traced and dismantled.” He added: “This resurgence is a desperate attempt to remain relevant and does not pose a serious threat to national security.”

On July 8 the Brotherhood’s official platform released a statement from senior leader Mahmoud Hussein reaffirming the group’s commitment to non-violence. While the violent operation in Cairo is not mentioned in the statement, the fact that it was issued the day after was seen as significant.

The security official said that because the Egyptian operation hadn’t been made public yet, leaders in Turkey had to distance themselves from it because they were aware that two of their men were killed and that it was only a matter of time before the world heard about it.

“They don’t feel safe in Turkey any more, so they have to tread carefully. They can plan the attacks but they’re not strong enough to admit to them publicly,” said the security official, who added that the group’s leadership is now largely preoccupied with self-preservation rather than operational planning.

They stressed that dealing with the leaders in Turkey should be more of a priority because they are the minds behind plans that are sent to their small monitoring and execution units in Egypt.

The operational units in Egypt are easily dealt with, according to the official, who says the Egyptian security establishment is more than equipped to handle the remnants of the Brotherhood at home. It only requires help to deal with them abroad.