(AFP PHOTO/KHALED DESOUKI)
Investigations Judge Hassan Samir has referred former president Mohamed Morsi to criminal court, alongside Muslim Brotherhood Supreme Guide Mohamed Badie, his deputy Mahmoud Ezzat, former speaker of parliament Saad Al-Katatny and 126 others, according to a Saturday statement issued by the prosecution.
The defendants include Guidance bureau members Mohamed Al-Beltagy, Essam Al-Erian, Saad Al-Hosseiny and 123 members of the Brotherhood, Hamas and Hezbollah. Of the 130 defendants, 20 are currently in detention while the rest have been issued arrest warrants.
The defendants are charged with kidnapping four police officers and holding them in the Gaza strip, using heavy armaments against the Egyptian government, breaking into prisons, breaking prisoners out, murder and attempted murder of police officers among other charges such as committing violent acts affecting the unity and independence of Egypt and setting fire to governmental buildings.
The prosecution statement described these alleged crimes as “the most dangerous acts of terrorism the country has ever witnessed”.
Samir’s investigations, which started in April 2013 according to the statement, revealed that the Muslim Brotherhood’s international organisation “constructed a terrorist plan which aimed at destroying the Egyptian state and its foundations, and restructuring the nation on a religious basis”. The plan was executed by the “[Muslim] Brotherhood organisation in Egypt, some foreign states, Hamas and Hezbollah”.
According to investigations, the plan aimed at installing new regimes in the Middle East to serve the interests of foreign states, “especially Israel, by using a part of the Sinai Peninsula to resettle Palestinians who reside in the Gaza strip”.
“Investigations revealed that ousted president Morsi and [Muslim] Brotherhood leaders communicated with international organisation member Ahmed Abdel Atty, who had once lived in Turkey [is Morsi’s former bureau manager and currently being detained], members from Hamas, Hezbollah and those foreign states by forming cells executing terrorist acts after infiltrating Egyptian lands from the Gaza strip through tunnels,” the statement added.
This plan reached its climax, the statement said, when the Muslim Brotherhood exploited popular anger during the 25 January 2011 Revolution as “foreigners who infiltrated the country united with jihadists in Sinai to attack the eastern border area, attempted to control 60 kilometres of the border with the Gaza strip, attack police installations, break into prisons, and free imprisoned [Muslim] Brotherhood [members], Hamas, Hezbollah members and criminals to incite chaos.” The statement also added that the Muslim Brotherhood gave the foreigners forged Egyptian ID cards, cars, motorbikes and gas to produce Molotov cocktails.
According to the statement, investigations also revealed that 800 foreigners, affiliated with Hamas and Hezbollah, infiltrated Egypt through tunnels with SUVs while in possession of heavy armament, RPGs and mortars, which they used against police and governmental installations in the eastern border area and killed several policemen.
They later moved in three groups to attack Wadi Al-Natrun Prison in Beheira Governorate and Abo Za’abal and Al-Marg prisons in Cairo, the statement alleged, which they successfully broke into , killed over 50 policemen and prisoners, and freed their fellow members and 20,000 prisoners. They also vandalised and stole police equipment, cars and arms and kidnapped four policemen.
Morsi was detained in Wadi Al-Natrun Prison and was one of those who had been freed after the 28 January 2011 prison break.
Morsi was referred to criminal court twice before. His first referral came in 1 September with charges regarding the 5 December 2012 presidential palace clashes, which left five dead and 693 injured. Morsi was tried for this case on 4 November, with the next session scheduled to be on 8 January 2014. Morsi’s second referral was on Wednesday with charges of espionage.
