Hamas denies involvement in Egypt revolution jail breaks

Hamas on Sunday denied involvement in Egypt’s internal affairs, after the country’s ex-minister of interior accused the Islamist group of participating in prison breaks during the Egyptian revolution in 2011.
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri told Ma’an that accusations by former Egyptian Interior Minister Mahmoud Wagdy that the Islamist group took part in prison riots were “untrue and pointless.”

The Hamas official said the group had no involvement in events during the revolution that overthrew Hosni Mubarak, calling accusations by the ex-Egyptian minister as part of a “political game.”

Egyptian media reported Sunday that Wagdy, who briefly served as interior minister after being appointed by Mubarak in Jan. 2011, recently testified in court that Hamas participated in prison breaks during the revolution.

Wagdy alleged that Hamas and Hezbollah members entered Egypt through tunnels under the Gaza border and headed to Egyptian jails located in Marg, Abu Zaabal and Wadi al-Natrun to free prisoners.

Some of the escaped detainees then fled to the Gaza Strip, Wadgy said.

Abu Zuhri said that Palestinian prisoners who escaped to Gaza from Egypt were retried, with some released after receiving pardons.

The Hamas official called on Egypt to release Palestinian prisoners still being held in Egyptian jails despite judicial decrees sanctioning their release.

In May, The Associated Press reported that orchestrated attacks on prisons in Egypt during the uprising in 2011 saw over 20,000 detainees escape.

Around 40 Hamas and Hezbollah members reportedly escaped, together with over 30 leaders in the Muslim Brotherhood.