Top Prosecutor Sends 919 Morsi Supporters To Court

Egypt’s top prosecutor referred hundreds of Islamists to court Wednesday, accused of killings and violent attacks amid the dispersal of two sit-ins for ousted president Mohamed Morsi protesters last August, state news agency MENA said.

Hisham Barakat ordered the referral of 919 defendants in the southern city of Minya, belonging to Mohamed Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood group, in two cases on charges of murder, attempted murder, attacking public installations and torching some of them.

The cases are in connection to retaliation attacks on police stations, churches and other sites amid the crackdown of security forces on two main sit-ins of Morsi supporters in Rabaa El-Adawiya and Al-Nahda squares in Cairo and Giza respectively.

The first case involves 204 defendants, including Muslim Brotherhood Supreme Guide Mohamed Badie. Only three in this case are detained, the rest on the run.

Charges include rioting that disrupts security and the public peace, intentional sabotage of properties, torching buildings, show of force and inciting violence and attacking security forces.

The second case includes 719 defendants, including Badie also. Some 160 are detained and the rest are at large.

The referral Wednesday comes two days after 529 Islamists were sentenced to death, also in Minya, a ruling that has outraged international rights groups, who decried the sentences and deemed the court’s proceedings a violation of the right to a fair trial.

Interim authorities have cracked down hard on Muslim Brotherhood members and supporters after ousting Mohamed Morsi in July 2013. Thousands are detained or standing trial, including the group’s top leadership.

Morsi himself is standing trial in four cases on a variety of charges.

Source : Ahram online