Cairo – Deposed Egyptian president Mohamed Mursi is to stand trial on charges of committing and inciting violence, a state prosecutor decided on Sunday, an escalation of the army-backed authorities’ crackdown on his Muslim Brotherhood.
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The prosecutor, Hesham Barakat, referred Mursi and 14 other Brotherhood members to a Cairo criminal court on charges of “committing acts of violence, and inciting killing and thuggery”, the state news agency reported.
The charges relate to violence outside the presidential palace last December, after Mursi had ignited protesters’ rage by expanding his powers.
Mursi is also being investigated over his escape from jail during the 2011 uprising against Hosni Mubarak. He is accused of murder and conspiring with the Palestinian group Hamas during the prison break, though no formal charges have been brought in that case.
Mursi was overthrown by the army on July 3, just a year into his four-year term, following mass protests against his rule. Since then, the authorities have mounted a fierce crackdown against the Brotherhood, rounding up most of its top leaders.
The security forces have also killed hundreds of Mursi supporters during protests since his downfall.
In turn, the government accuses the Brotherhood of committing acts of violence. Around 100 members of the security forces have also been killed since August 14, when the police used force to break up pro-Mursi protest camps in Cairo.