Egypt announces new charges against Morsi, 35 others

[Sally]

I guess another round of Muslim Brotherhood protestors out in the streets.

Egypt announces new charges against Morsi, 35 others

Deposed President Mohamed Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood, meanwhile, declares a boycott of next month's vote on a proposed constitution.

By Laura King and Amro Hassan
December 18, 2013, 2:37 p.m.
CAIRO — Egypt's interim government and the Muslim Brotherhood traded fresh blows Wednesday, with the prosecutor general announcing serious new charges against deposed Islamist President Mohamed Morsi and the Brotherhood declaring a boycott of next month's vote on a new constitution.

The developments appeared to harden the months-long standoff between the army-backed administration and followers of Morsi, a confrontation that has left thousands of Brotherhood members dead or in jail and harmed the international standing of the government that supplanted his rule.

The new charges against Morsi, which could conceivably carry the death penalty, include assisting in terrorist acts and espionage, according to the prosecutor's office. The ex-leader is also accused of collaborating with Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that rules the Gaza Strip. Hamas has denied any role in the battle between government troops and militant Islamists in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, which borders Gaza.

To continue reading, go to:

Egypt announces new charges against Morsi, 35 others - latimes.com

 

[Coyote]

I do not think what the Egyptian "government" is doing is any better than what the MB regime did - frankly, the charges sound almost "trumped up". The way the military led government has attacked it's own people is not a good thing in my opinion.

 

[Sally]

I do not think what the Egyptian "government" is doing is any better than what the MB regime did - frankly, the charges sound almost "trumped up". The way the military led government has attacked it's own people is not a good thing in my opinion.

Your probably right about the military-led government, but under Morsi the Christian Copts were sure suffering. Perhaps some compromise can be made in Egypt where all groups can live side by side in peace.

 

[Coyote]

I do not think what the Egyptian "government" is doing is any better than what the MB regime did - frankly, the charges sound almost "trumped up". The way the military led government has attacked it's own people is not a good thing in my opinion.

Your probably right about the military-led government, but under Morsi the Christian Copts were sure suffering. Perhaps some compromise can be made in Egypt where all groups can live side by side in peace.

Agree - not sure if that was policy on Morsi's part or his inability to govern effectively

What is happening now just isn't very good either

 

[waltky]

Morsi gets a bit of a reprieve...

EGYPT: MORSI'S TRIAL ADJOURNED UNTIL FEB. 1
Jan 8,`14 -- The trial of Egypt's former Islamist president on charges of inciting murder was adjourned on Wednesday until next month, after bad weather prevented a helicopter flight from bringing Mohammed Morsi to court.

The helicopter, which was to fly Morsi from a prison near the Mediterranean city of Alexandria to the court in eastern Cairo, could not take off because of fog, security officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to media. Judge Ahmed Sabry Youssef adjourned the proceedings until Feb. 1. Morsi and 14 other Muslim Brotherhood members face charges of inciting the killing of protesters outside a Cairo presidential palace in December 2012 - when he was still in office and when at least 10 people were killed and hundreds wounded. Wednesday's hearing was to be Morsi's second appearance in court since his ouster in a popularly-backed coup on July 3. Seven of Morsi's co-defendants are being tried in the case in absentia, while the rest are being held at a Cairo jail.

It's one of three trials that Morsi faces. Charges in the other two cases have to do with Morsi's jailbreak in 2011 - during an uprising that ousted his predecessor, autocrat Hosni Mubarak - and allegations that he conspired with militant groups. Charges in all three carry the death penalty. Since Morsi's ouster, his Brotherhood has been waging a campaign of street protests to demand his reinstatement. The military-backed government has meanwhile cracked down on the Brotherhood, arresting thousands, including the group's top and mid-level leaders. In August, security forces cleared two pro-Morsi sit-in camps in Cairo, killing hundreds.

Wednesday's adjournment came less than a week before Egyptians are scheduled to start voting in a nationwide referendum on a new constitution that, if adopted by a simple majority, will replace an Islamist-tilted one passed under Morsi. About 680,000 Egyptians living abroad started voting on the new charter on Wednesday. Defense lawyers claimed Wednesday's adjournment was linked to the Jan. 14-15 referendum on the new constitution and that the judge's decision was politically motivated. "The decision was inspired by the political circumstances," said one of the lawyers, Osama el-Helou.

A comfortable "yes" majority in the referendum along with a significant turnout would give the military-backed government considerable legitimacy as it presses on with a roadmap for Egypt's transition, announced by military chief Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi the day he removed Morsi. After the referendum, next in line are elections for a new parliament and a president, but no date has been set for either. There are growing signs that a presidential election will be held first, possibly as early as in the spring. El-Sissi, whose popularity has soared since the coup, has not ruled out a presidential run.

Source

 

[Roudy]

I guess another round of Muslim Brotherhood protestors out in the streets.

Egypt announces new charges against Morsi, 35 others

Deposed President Mohamed Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood, meanwhile, declares a boycott of next month's vote on a proposed constitution.

By Laura King and Amro Hassan
December 18, 2013, 2:37 p.m.
CAIRO — Egypt's interim government and the Muslim Brotherhood traded fresh blows Wednesday, with the prosecutor general announcing serious new charges against deposed Islamist President Mohamed Morsi and the Brotherhood declaring a boycott of next month's vote on a new constitution.

The developments appeared to harden the months-long standoff between the army-backed administration and followers of Morsi, a confrontation that has left thousands of Brotherhood members dead or in jail and harmed the international standing of the government that supplanted his rule.

The new charges against Morsi, which could conceivably carry the death penalty, include assisting in terrorist acts and espionage, according to the prosecutor's office. The ex-leader is also accused of collaborating with Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that rules the Gaza Strip. Hamas has denied any role in the battle between government troops and militant Islamists in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, which borders Gaza.

To continue reading, go to:

Egypt announces new charges against Morsi, 35 others - latimes.com

Good! Lock that Islamist scumbag up and throw away the key.

 

[waltky]

Granny says, "Yo, Mo - don't be throwin' no stones...

OUSTED EGYPT LEADER IN GLASS-ENCASED CAGE AT TRIAL
Jan 28,`14 -- Egypt's toppled President Mohammed Morsi stood inside a glass-encased metal cage Tuesday, separated from other defendants for the start of a new trial Tuesday over charges from prison breaks during the country's 2011 revolution, state television reported.

Egypt's state news agency MENA reported that Morsi flew by helicopter from Borg al-Arab prison in Alexandria. Only 19 other of the 129 defendants in the case, including the leader of Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood group and other leading figures, are held by authorities. The rest, including members of the Palestinian militant group Hamas and Lebanon's Hezbollah, are on the run.

Egypt's state television broadcast exclusively from the courtroom. Its reporter said Morsi appeared in a separate cage from the other defendants in the case. He said defendants turned their back to the court, a form of protest of their prosecution. The case is rooted in the 2011 escape of more than 20,000 inmates from Egyptian prisons - including Morsi and other Brotherhood members, during the early days of the 18-day uprising against ousted President Hosni Mubarak.

Authorities accuse Morsi and the other defendants of plotting to "destroy the Egyptian state and its institutions," conspiring with the foreign groups who infiltrated to Egypt through Gaza and using the turmoil during the uprising to organize the prison breaks. The prosecutors said more than 800 foreign fighters entered Egypt through Gaza to take part in storming of three prisons and killed a number of police officers and inmates. A Brotherhood lawyer has said the trial appears aimed at "denigrating" Morsi and the Brotherhood.

It is Morsi's second court appearance since Egypt's popularly backed July 3 military coup. He missed a Jan. 8 hearing in another trial after security officials said bad weather grounded a helicopter meant to bring him. The hearing is at a police academy complex in eastern Cairo, where a heavy security presence stood guard Tuesday. State television showed briefly showed live footage from inside the courtroom before the trial started. Morsi is facing three other trials on different charges as well. Only one of those trials, where he is accused of inciting murder of his opponents while in office, has begun. Many of the charges he faces carry the death sentence.

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