Türkiye has revoked the citizenship of Muslim Brotherhood’s Istanbul faction acting leader Mahmoud Hussein.
The government canceled his and his wife’s passports due to violating the conditions of their citizenship.
Sources affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood in Türkiye revealed that the government, following Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s recent visit to Egypt, also revoked the citizenship of 50 other top officials.
Investigations revealed they had tampered with the conditions of their permits.
In 2022, the Turkish government approved a law granting citizenship in exchange for purchasing a property valued at over $400,000 or depositing amounts in Turkish banks, provided that the real estate or deposits are not disposed of before three years. The property can only be resold to a Turkish citizen.
The law allowed tens of thousands of Arabs and foreigners to buy real estate.
However, it sparked anger among the Turkish opposition, which accused the government of insulting the Turkish passport by granting it in exchange for money to increase the number of votes for the ruling Justice and Development Party.
Over 300,000 Syrians and several Muslim Brotherhood leaders from Egypt were granted exceptional nationalities.
The law has been exploited by some offices and companies that finalize citizenship transactions to commit violations and manipulate the sale of citizenship.
Last May, pressure from the Turkish opposition during the presidential and parliamentary elections prompted the authorities to review the conditions of residents and those holding citizenship.
Sources said that several Egyptians, Syrians, and Russians formed networks that violated the conditions for obtaining citizenship. They explained that the Muslim Brotherhood leader violated the citizenship law.
Hussein obtained the passport after presenting the property as evidence for his wife’s citizenship file, as she resides in the same property. He then sold the property to another foreign citizen, who used it to obtain his citizenship.
Sources close to Hussein told Asharq Al-Awsat that the authorities informed him of the decision without providing reasons.
Brotherhood officials are discussing the issue with the Turkish Presidency and the ruling Justice and Development Party.
Since the start of negotiations to normalize relations with Egypt and entering an advanced stage in 2021, leading to the culmination of these efforts with Erdogan’s visit to Cairo last week, the Turkish authorities imposed restrictions on Brotherhood leaders.
They prevented them from making media statements against Egypt and the Gulf states.
Türkiye also imposed restrictions on the Muslim Brotherhood’s mouthpiece channels, which for about ten years have continued to attack the political leadership and Egyptian authorities and incite violence.
Many of the leaders and workers in these channels left Türkiye, and some channels relocated to London.
After the first meeting between Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Erdogan in Doha in late 2022, the Turkish authorities tightened restrictions on granting nationalities and scrutinizing the open residency campaign.
Authorities rejected the citizenship requests of individuals convicted of terrorism cases in Egypt.
Restrictions were tightened significantly after the two countries exchanged ambassadors last year.
Egyptian-Turkish relations entered a new phase after Erdogan visited Cairo, where it was agreed to establish a high-level strategic cooperation council.
During the visit, the two countries signed several agreements and memorandums of understanding, including revitalizing economic and trade cooperation and raising the exchange volume to $15 billion.
Sisi is also scheduled to visit Ankara next April or May.
