A court in Egypt has banned “all activities” by the Muslim Brotherhood, deposed in the 3 July ouster and detention of former president Mohammed Morsi.  The court is also ordering the government to freeze and administer the Brotherhood’s assets.

The ruling came in a lawsuit against the Muslim Brotherhood that claimed the group represented “harm to national security” and disrupted “public safety and harmony.”  The ruling doesn’t outlaw the group, as happened once before in 1954 when it attempted to assassinate President Gamal Abdel Nassar in 1954.  But it puts the group’s assets under the control of the interim government.  And the court appears to be targeting the actions of the Brotherhood’s affiliated charity groups which it used to increase its popularity.

The military authorities have launched a crackdown on the group since ousting Morsi two months ago in response to millions of protesters who had had enough of Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood changing the constitution to restrict rights and support Islamist policies.

Dozens of senior figures, including its general guide Mohammed Badie, have been detained on suspicion of inciting violence and murder.