An Egyptian court has dissolved the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood and ordered its assets liquidated.
In its ruling on Saturday, the Supreme Administrative Court ordered "the dissolution of the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) because it broke the law regarding political parties."
According to the state-run Middle East News Agency, the decision is final and not open to appeal.
The measure against the FJP comes after a recommendation by the court's advisory panel that noted the party's leaders had already been accused, and in some cases convicted of murder and inciting violence.
Moreover, the court decision is part of a wider crackdown against the Muslim Brotherhood and members of the movement.
Since the ouster of former Egyptian president, Mohamed Morsi, on July 3 last year, Egypt has been the scene of anti-government protests with continuous clashes between security forces and Morsi’s supporters.
Morsi, Egypt’s first democratically-elected president, was toppled in a military coup led by Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Egypt’s current president and then army commander.
Following Morsi’s ouster, Sisi announced his candidacy for the nation’s presidency and was sworn in as president after winning an election in which less than 50 percent of eligible voters participated.
Sisi is accused of leading the suppression of Muslim Brotherhood supporters as hundreds of them have been killed in clashes with Egyptian security forces.
Rights groups say the army’s crackdown on the supporters of Morsi has left over 1,400 people dead and 22,000 others arrested.
At least 200 people have also been sentenced to death in mass trials, including Brotherhood leader Mohamed Badie, although none of the sentences has been carried out so far.
