EGYPT REFERS BROTHERHOOD LEADER, 223 OTHERS TO MILITARY COURT

Cairo, 14 Jumadil Akhir 1436 /3 April, 2015 (MINA) – Egyptian prosecutors have referred Muslim Brotherhood (MB) Supreme Leader Mohamed Badie and 223 others to military prosecution authorities over violence-related charges, a judicial source told Anadolu Agency.

The defendants are accused of sabotaging state institutions in the central Beni Suef province following the dispersal of two sit-ins staged by supporters of the deposed Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi in mid-2013, the source said.

Hundreds of pro-Morsi demonstrators were killed when security forces violently dispersed the sit-ins following Morsi’s ouster, Middle East Monitor (MEMO) quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.

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Egyptian prosecutors are legally permitted to refer cases to military prosecutors when vandalism of government property is involved.

Last October, Abdul-Fattah Al-Sisi, the current president, issued a law that allows cases involving the violation of state institutions to be referred to military courts.

The move was widely criticised by local and international rights organisations, which voiced concerns that defendants would not receive fair trials before military tribunals.

Ever since Morsi’s ouster almost two years ago, Egypt’s government has waged a relentless crackdown on political dissent, which has largely targeted Morsi supporters and members of Morsi’s now-outlawed Muslim Brotherhood. (T/P002/P3)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)