Erdogan grants citizenship to Muslim Brotherhood members

Asmaa Al-Batakouchi

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is granting citizenships to Muslim Brotherhood members fleeing Egypt and some terrorists in order to protect them, and further legalize their presence in Turkey.

Yasser al-Omda, a Muslim Brotherhood member convicted of several cases in Egypt, said on his personal Facebook page that Turkish authorities have granted him citizenship. He explained that to obtain Turkish citizenship, it is required to pay $ 250 thousand dollars and finish some procedures, pointing out that some presenters in Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated channels have already obtained citizenship.

In this regard, a report by Qatari Leaks said Qatari Emir, Tamim bin Hamad, began to prepare a number of members of the Muslim Brotherhood hiding in Doha in order to travel, and obtain Turkish citizenship, especially after being accused of terrorism-related issues in their countries, especially Egypt.

This action by the Qatari Emir follows Erdogan’s announcement of implementing what has been agreed with Tamim, namely granting of Turkish citizenship to Brotherhood members and their leaders without paying the prescribed fees.

The first list agreed upon for citizenship includes a number of leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood, namely, Medhat al-Haddad, Mohamed Abdel-Azim Bashlawi, and Ayman Ahmed Abdel-Ghani brother-in-law of Khairat al-Shater, deputy leader of the group.

The report further affirmed that the decision comes from the Turkish president and the Qatari Emir to grant the fugitive members of the group Turkish citizenships.

In an interview with The Reference, Karam Saied, a researcher in Turkish affairs, said the volume of Muslim Brotherhood investments is quite large to the extent that this number could affect the Turkish economy.

Saied clarified that Muslim Brotherhood members are seeking to regroup, and the Turkish and Qatari regimes are helping them achieve this goal.

He further added that it is clear that the Turkish authority cites and example of having double standards, with the way it deals with Syrians on its lands, pointing out that Erdogan is planning to mobilize these Muslim Brotherhood members and terrorists to send them back to Egypt.