Jordan outlaws Muslim Brotherhood group, confiscates its assets and offices

• Group operated legally in Jordan for decades.
• Fraya says all the activities of group would be banned.
• Opponents say it is a “dangerous terrorist” group.   

AMMAN: Jordan outlawed the Muslim Brotherhood, the country’s most vocal opposition group, on Wednesday and confiscated its assets after members of the group were found to be linked to a sabotage plot, Interior Minister Mazen Fraya said.

There was no immediate comment from the movement, which has operated legally in Jordan for decades and has widespread grass-roots support in major urban centres and scores of offices across the country.

Fraya said all the activities of the group would be banned and anyone promoting its ideology would be held accountable by law.

The ban includes publishing anything by the group and closure and confiscation of all its offices and property, he added.

Opponents of the Brotherhood, which is outlawed in most Arab countries, say it is a dangerous terrorist group which must be crushed. The movement says it publicly renounced violence decades ago and pursues an Islamist vision using peaceful means.