The General Prosecution ordered the referral of 28 defendants to the State Security Criminal Court over charges of forming an illegal group with the aim of “endangering societal peace and national unity, as well as inciting people to protest.”
The group in question is called the Egyptian Council for Change, a non-governmental pressure body established outside Egypt by a Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated politician, Hossam Moghazy, after the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi.
The prosecution accused Moghazy of spreading false news through groups that he allegedly operates through the council. He was also charged with luring and recruiting individuals online.
Moghazy is a public figure on several pro-Brotherhood channels, from which he administered several campaigns that criticised Egypt’s local and foreign policies.
Out of the 28 defendants, only nine have been arrested. Moghazy fled the country on 2 July, a day before the ouster of Morsi. Like hundreds of Muslim Brotherhood members, he took refuge outside Egypt, where he began activities to oppose the Egyptian state.
Several cases are being looked into by the prosecution, with dozens of other defendants accused of spreading false news and joining an illegal group.
