Belgian security forces arrested Egyptian youth and Muslim Brotherhood activist Anas Habib and his brother Tarek Habib in Brussels, coinciding with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s visit to the country. The arrest was on charges related to surveillance and threatening President Sisi while he was in Brussels. Police detained the two brothers inside their hotel and confiscated their mobile phones.
The arrest occurred during President Sisi's participation in the first Egypt-EU summit, which took place on Wednesday. There, he met with European Council President António Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. According to Egyptian media reports, the charges against Anas Habib related to surveillance and threatening the president during his visit.
Weeks earlier, Dutch police had arrested Anas Habib and taken him into custody for questioning and legal action following an alleged assault on the Egyptian Embassy in the Netherlands. Recently, a number of Egyptian embassies in European countries have been subjected to assaults, which Cairo described as “malicious and suspicious movements” intended to distract attention from Israeli “crimes” in Gaza. These protests falsely claimed that Egypt was participating in the siege of the Gaza Strip.
Anas Habib is an Egyptian youth activist affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, and his arrest comes amid tensions related to Egyptian political activism abroad.