An Egyptian court handed life sentences to Hassan Malik, a leader of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, as well as his son Hamza and five others on Tuesday on terrorism charges and for "harming the national economy.”
The charges were based in part on a search of Malik's home in which Muslim Brotherhood documents were found that allegedly outlined plots against the state, a judicial source told Reuters.
The source said the documents outlined plans to damage Egypt's economy by manipulating the value of the Egyptian pound against the dollar. They also said the documents described plans to attack armed forces, police and tourists and that they incited the use of violence to overthrow the government.
The court found the main defendants guilty of "plotting terror acts targeting military and police forces as well as the tourism sector, including European and Russian visitors,” another official told Agence France Presse.
Malik, a businessman, was in court for the trial, dressed in white prison garb, while his son Hamza and five other Brotherhood defendants were tried in absentia.
