(AFP FILE PHOTO / TAREK EL-GABASS)
The prosecutor general released a statement Saturday announcing that ousted president Mohamed Morsi is accused of leaking presidential documents and confidential regarding national security and defence, and with espionage for Qatar during the period of his presidency.
According to the statement, this is “the biggest conspiracy” committed by the Muslim Brotherhood against the nation.
Investigations have claimed that Morsi exploited his position as president to appoint Muslim Brotherhood cadres in sensitive positions; including Ahmed Abdel-Atty, who was Morsi’s office manager, and Amin El-Serafi, who held the position of presidential secretary.
Investigators allege that the Muslim Brotherhood leaked documents to Qatari Intelligence and to Qatari-based media outlet Al Jazeera.
These documents included vulnerable information relating to the armed forces, said the statement.
The statement further read that El-Serafi transferred these documents to his daughter Karima El- Serafi, who handed it over upon his request to Alaa Sablan, Al-Jazeera correspondent through Asmaa Al-Khateeb who works for Rassd News Network (R.N.N).
The documents were alleged to have been transferred through a number of news networks before ending up with Qatari Intelligence.
People involved in the transfer of the documents process were arrested as well including a documentary film producer Ahmed Ali, daughter of Amin El-Serafi Karima El-Serafi, and Khaled Hamdy a production manager in channel Misr 25. Some of them confessed to the crimes attributed to them, according to prosecution.
The prosecutor general has referred the defendants to the Criminal Court; Morsi, Abdel Atty and El-Serafi remain incarcerated. According to the prosecution the defendants have confessed to the crimes attributed to them.
Wafaa Al-Banna, Muslim Brotherhood spokeswoman, said that “this is all fabricated to keep Morsi in prison” with the aim of compiling charges on him to keep the media saying that Morsi is accused in lots of cases, but none of these charges is true. She added “that none confessed anything, because none of the charges attributed to them are true.”
Morsi is facing several other charges, including insulting the judiciary, inciting the killing of protesters during deadly clashes outside the presidential palace in December 2012, and escaping from prison in January 2011.
Morsi is also accused in another espionage case, in which he faces charges of disclosing national security secrets, funding terrorism, and coordination with jihadist organisation inside and outside of Egypt – referring to Palestinian Islamist group Hamas and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
