This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/27/world/middleeast/egypt.html
The article has changed 19 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Version 0 | Version 1 |
---|---|
Egyptian Court Accuses Morsi of Espionage | Egyptian Court Accuses Morsi of Espionage |
(35 minutes later) | |
CAIRO — Egyptian state media reported on Friday that former President Mohamed Morsi had been formally charged with espionage and remanded in custody, in a move that seemed certain to further anger his supporters who have been demonstrating against what they call the military coup that removed him from power. | |
With mass dueling protests planned by Mr. Morsi’s opponents and his supporters on Friday, the president’s formal detention on what are viewed by many as political charges threatened to further inflame the streets. Egypt’s military rulers had come under intensifying international pressure to release Mr. Morsi, who had been held incommunicado by the military since he was removed from power on July 3. | With mass dueling protests planned by Mr. Morsi’s opponents and his supporters on Friday, the president’s formal detention on what are viewed by many as political charges threatened to further inflame the streets. Egypt’s military rulers had come under intensifying international pressure to release Mr. Morsi, who had been held incommunicado by the military since he was removed from power on July 3. |
Instead, an investigating judge ordered him imprisoned for 15 days on formal charges, according to a report on Friday morning on the Web site of the state newspaper, Al Ahram. The charges relate to Mr. Morsi’s escape in 2011 from the Wadi Natroun prison, where he was held for two days by the government of former President Hosni Mubarak during the uprising against Mr. Mubarak’s rule. | |
The judge, Hassan Samir, said that Mr. Morsi conspired with Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that governs the Gaza Strip, to escape from the prison. The report said Mr. Morsi and Hamas carried out “aggressive acts in the country,” attacked police establishments and killed and kidnapped police officers and soldiers. | |
After his escape, Mr. Morsi said in a television interview that he was among 30 members of his movement, the Muslim Brotherhood, who were broken out of the prison by men they did not know. | After his escape, Mr. Morsi said in a television interview that he was among 30 members of his movement, the Muslim Brotherhood, who were broken out of the prison by men they did not know. |
During Mr. Morsi’s year as president, his opponents had repeatedly accused him of conspiring with Hamas, an offshoot of the Brotherhood. The Wadi Natroun case never gained any traction until Mr. Morsi was toppled and prosecutors began an aggressive investigation. | |
Gehad al-Haddad, a spokesman for the Muslim Brotherhood, said on Friday that the charges amounted to a repudiation of the revolt that toppled Mr. Mubarak and “might increase the number of angry people on the ground.” | |
“It will only help strengthen the realization that the Mubarak state is back,” he said. | “It will only help strengthen the realization that the Mubarak state is back,” he said. |