Egypt’s Minister of Interior Mohamed Ibrahim ordered on Wednesday the removal of General Mostafa El-Baz from his post as head of the Prisons Authority. According to AP, the reshuffle comes amid reports that El-Baz facilitated communication between detained Islamists by overlooking meetings that took place in jail between Muslim Brotherhood leaders and other Islamists, as well as allowing them to communicate with others outside of prison.
An anonymous official source told the news agency no official explanation was provided for the sacking.
Since the ousting of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, several leading members the Muslim Brotherhood were arrested by the police. Among those is the group's Supreme Guide Mohamed Badie who, along with his deputy Khairat El-Shater and others, is currently on trial for allegedly inciting murder in clashes at the Brotherhood's headquarters in June.
El-Baz, who occupied the post since 10 June, will be replaced by General Mohamed Rateb, the minister of interior’s assistant for ports security, Al-Ahram Arabic news website reported.
Ibrahim also ordered changing the head of security in Upper Egypt’s Minya and the Nile Delta’s Kafr Al-Sheikh, as well as the head of detectives in both Aswan and Red Sea governorates, the website added.
