CAIRO
A senior Muslim Brotherhood leader has denied allegations by presidential frontrunner Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi that the Islamist group had sought to monopolize power in Egypt.
"The Brotherhood never controlled the presidency [under ousted president Mohamed Morsi]," Gamal Heshmat told Anadolu Agency on Monday.
On Sunday, al-Sisi accused the Muslim Brotherhood of trying to monopolize political power and of offering the army financial incentives to remain silent.
Al-Sisi, who led the army to remove Morsi from office last July, went on to claim that the Brotherhood had smuggled documents about Egypt's national security to Qatar.
"If al-Sisi has evidence that the Brotherhood had sought to control power, he should produce it," Heshmat, a former lawmaker, said.
He dismissed allegations that the Muslim Brotherhood had smuggled documents about Egypt's national security abroad.
"These are lies," he said. "This is a mere allegation by al-Sisi, who believes he will not be judged for his claims."
Egypt's army-backed authorities have launched a wide-ranging crackdown on Morsi's supporters, including the embattled Muslim Brotherhood, since Morsi's ouster and imprisonment by the army last July.
Since then, thousands of the groups' members and sympathizers have been arrested and convicted on multiple charges, which they insist are politically motivated.
By Hussein al-Qabani
englishnews@aa.com.tr
