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.
THREATS: Naval facilities have been built in Shanghai and Zhejiang, while airbases have been expanded in Xiamen, Fuzhou and Zhangpu, across the Strait from Taiwan The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is building large-scale military infrastructure at five sites along the eastern coast of China, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in a recent report. The latest issue of the council’s Mainland China Situation Quarterly said satellite photos showed military infrastructure such as air force and naval bases being constructed along the eastern coast of China. That means the CCP might be preparing for potential conflict in Taiwan, it said, adding that there are five such construction sites from north to south. A naval base has been built in Shanghai’s Pudong New Area, with underground oil storage tanks, railway
MILESTONE: The foreign minister called the signing ‘a major step forward in US-Taiwan relations,’ while the Presidential Office said it was a symbol of the nations’ shared values US President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed into law the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, which requires the US Department of State to regularly review and update guidelines governing official US interactions with Taiwan. The new law is an amendment to the Taiwan Assurance Act of 2020 focused on reviewing guidelines on US interactions with Taiwan. Previously, the state department was required to conduct a one-time review of its guidance governing relations with Taiwan, but under the new bill, the agency must conduct a review “not less than every five years.” It must then submit an updated report based on its findings “not later
A trial run of the north concourse of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport’s new Terminal 3 is to commence today, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The eight additional boarding gates would allow for more aircraft parking spaces that are expected to boost the airport’s capacity by 5.8 million passengers annually, Deputy Minister of Transportation and Communications Lin Kuo-shian (林國顯) said. The concourse, designed by a team led by British architect Richard Rogers, provides a refreshing space, Lin said, adding that travelers would enjoy the tall and transparent design that allows sunshine to stream into the concourse through glass curtain walls. The
The Presidential Office today thanked the US for enacting the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, which requires the US Department of State to regularly review and update guidelines governing official US interactions with Taiwan. The new law, signed by US President Donald Trump yesterday, is an amendment to the Taiwan Assurance Act of 2020 focused on reviewing guidelines on US interactions with Taiwan. Previously, the department was required to conduct a one-time review of its guidance governing relations with Taiwan, but under the new bill, the agency must conduct such a review "not less than every five years." It must then submit an updated
RSS