Egypt's Islamist Watan Party senior leader Yosri Hammad has denied any ongoing negotiations to release the Brotherhood's deputy general guide Khairat El-Shater, following a foreign envoys visit to El-Shater in prison on Sunday.
Yosri accused the envoys of "trumping" the deposed president Mohamed Morsi and his backing National Coalition to Support Legitimacy – of which the Watan Party is a member, along with other Brotherhood-allied Islamist parties – by attempting to negotiate with El-Shater.
US Deputy Secretary of State William Burns, EU special representative Bernadino Leon, and the foreign ministers of Qatar and the United Arab Emirates Khalid Al-Attiyah and Abdullah bin Zayed visited the Brotherhood's second-man in Tora Prison on Sunday night, government sources confirmed earlier to Ahram Online.
The delegation reportedly presented the Islamist leader with an initiative to break the political deadlock and circle of violence that has engulfed the country since Morsi's ouster.
El-Shater has been detained on charges of inciting to kill protesters since 6 July, three days after the popularly-backed army removal of Morsi.
The Muslim Brotherhood, from which Morsi hails, has been calling for the former president’s reinstatement through sit-ins and mass demonstrations across Egypt, refusing to engage in official talks until their demand is met.
