Ousted Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi is to stand trial in a criminal court for “incitement to murder,” state television reported on Sunday, without giving a date for the trial.
It said the former leader would stand trial along with 14 other suspects in his Muslim Brotherhood movement on charges of “incitement to murder and violence” in December last year, when deadly clashes broke out between his supporters and opponents outside the presidential palace.
Already accused of crimes related to his 2011 escape from prison, Morsi has been held at a secret location since his ouster by the army on July 3.
The co-defendants in the trial include senior Brotherhood figures Mohammed al-Beltagi and leaders such as Essam el-Erian, deputy head of the Freedom and Justice Party, the Brotherhood’s political wing.
In December last year, thousands of demonstrators gathered in front of the presidential palace in Cairo to protest against a presidential decree that expanded Morsi’s powers and an Islamist-drafted constitution. A court in July ordered Morsi’s detention for questioning over alleged ties with Palestinian militants in prison breaks and attacks on police.
Egypt has pressed a fierce campaign against the Brotherhood since the former president’s ouster and effectively decapitated the Islamist group by arresting its supreme guide, Mohammed Badie, late last month.
Authorities have also arrested more than 2,000 Brotherhood figures since Morsi’s ouster.
Brotherhood defendants, including Badie, were due to appear in court on Aug. 25, but were kept away for what authorities said were security reasons. A new hearing is to take place on Oct. 29.
Badie and his deputies Khairat al-Shater and Rashad al-Bayoumi face charges related to the deaths of protesters who stormed the Brotherhood’s headquarters on June 30.
Three other Brotherhood members are standing trial with the leaders, accused of carrying out the murders at the end of June.
Egyptian Islamists backing Morsi yesterday called for demonstrations across the country for today, two months after he was toppled by the military.
The call came a day after Egyptian President Adly Mansour announced a panel to draw up a revised constitution, without Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood, which rejected taking part.
In a statement issued early yesterday, the Anti-Coup Alliance, which is led by the Brotherhood, said today’s demonstrations would be held under the slogan: “The coup is terrorism,” to mark Morsi’s July 3 ouster.
The alliance “calls for active participation in these demonstrations and other activities aimed at achieving the return of Morsi,” the statement said.
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