Egypt judges recommend dissolving Islamist party

A panel of Egyptian judges has recommended the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party be dissolved, ahead of a court decision that could further drive the Islamists underground, state media reported Saturday. The panel made its non-binding recommendations to the administrative court, which is deliberating a law suit to ban the party for its affiliation with the Brotherhood and contravening laws on the formation of religious parties. The court will examine the recommendations in a hearing on February 15, the official MENA news agency reported. The party, headed by Mohammed Morsi before his election in June 2012, has been decimated in a crackdown following the Islamist president's overthrow last July. More than 2,000 Islamists including party operatives have been arrested since an August 14 crackdown on protesters that killed hundreds. The findings of such panels--appointed by courts to study lawsuits and make their recommendations--are often adopted. A separate court had already issued a temporary ban on the Brotherhood and ordered its assets seized ahead of a final verdict. Much of the Brotherhood's leadership, including Morsi, is already in prison and on trial for allegedly inciting violence after his ouster, following massive protests demanding his resignation. The Freedom and Justice Party swept Egypt's last legislative elections in 2011 and 2012, before a court ruling scrapped parliament.