EGYPT INTERIM GOVERNMENT DETAINED MORSI OVER ACCUSATION CONTACT WITH HAMAS

Cairo, 19 Ramadan 1434/27 July 2013 (MINA) – An investigating judge has ordered the detention of Egypt’s ousted president over alleged contacts with Hamas to help in his escape from prison in 2011, the official state news agency reported Friday in the first official word on Mohammed Morsi’s status since he was overthrown by the military on July 3.

Morsi also faces charges of involvement in attacks on police facilities and personnel, according to Egyptian state news agency MENA, Anadolu Agency reported as monitored by Mi’raj News Agency (MINA).

The MENA news agency said Morsi has been detained for 15 days pending the completion of the investigation into the accusations. His detention can be extended as the inquiry continues, Ottawa Citizen reported.

The case against Morsi is rooted in the mass jailbreak of more than 30 Muslim Brotherhood leaders from a prison northwest of Cairo during the 2011 popular uprising that toppled Morsi’s predecessor, autocrat Hosni Mubarak. Egyptian media reported that the Brotherhood collaborated with Hamas and Hezbollah militants in Lebanon to arrange the breakout.

Muslim Brotherhood officials have said they were aided by local residents in breaking out of prison, not foreigners. However, a court in the Suez Canal city of Ismailia accused Morsi and his Brotherhood colleagues were freed when gunmen led by Hamas operatives stormed the Wadi el-Natroun prison.

Hamas has consistently denied any involvement. On Friday a spokesman for the militant group, Sami Abu Zuhri, condemned Morsi’s detention order. “The Egyptian decision is an attempt to drag Hamas into the Egyptian conflict,” he said. “We call on the Arab League to bear its responsibility in facing the incitement against Hamas”. (T/P03/P04)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)