Egypt prosecutor orders arrest of Brotherhood figures

Reuters , Monday 15 Jul 2013

Latest charges accuse Essam El-Erian and Mohamed El-Beltagy of 'inciting violence, funding violent acts, and thuggery'

El-Erian and Beltagy
Muslim Brotherhood's Essam El-Erian and Mohamed El-Beltagy)

Egypt's public prosecutor ordered the arrest of seven senior Muslim Brotherhood and Islamist figures on Monday over charges of violence between Brotherhood supporters and opponents in the days before and after Mohamed Morsi was deposed as president.

The list includes leading Brotherhood figures Essam El-Erian and Mohamed El-Beltagy, both of whom were attending a demonstration on Monday, according to the Brotherhood.

El-Erian and El-Beltagy were included in a similar list last week of those charged with inciting violence, but have not yet been arrested. Other leading Brotherhood figures have been in detention since Morsi's ouster.

The latest charges accuse them of "inciting violence, funding violent acts, and thuggery."

Many have linked the Brotherhood to Sinai's militants after El-Beltagy stated in a recent interview that the peninsula would see no violence the moment Morsi is reinstated.

Hard-line Islamist groups based in North Sinai have intensified attacks on police and soldiers over the past two years, exploiting a security and political vacuum following the 2011 uprising that ousted autocratic president Hosni Mubarak.

Confrontations between militants and Egyptian security forces have further increased since the ouster of Morsi, who hails from the Muslim Brotherhood.

Clashes between Morsi supporters and opponents and security personnel have been intermittent in other governorates.

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