CAIRO : Deposed Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi will face trial on charges of insulting the judiciary, a judicial source said on Sunday, a signal that Egyptian authorities have no intention of easing a crackdown on his Muslim Brotherhood.
This is the fourth court case to face Mursi since he was ousted by the army in July after mass protests against his one-year rule. Mursi and 25 others have been charged with insulting the judiciary, the source said.
Egypt has been stepping up pressure on the Brotherhood, which it has labeled a terrorist organization. It has arrested thousands of its leaders on accusations of violence.
The Brotherhood, once Egypt’s best-organized political and religious movement, which won five consecutive elections, denies any links to violence and accuses the army of staging a military coup.
The former president is due to appear in court on January 28 over a mass jail break in 2011. He also faces charges in connection with the killing of protesters and collaborating with the Islamist Hamas group and with Hezbollah to carry out a terrorist conspiracy against Egypt.
Egypt’s interim government is trying to push through a political plan that would lead to presidential and parliamentary elections this year, with army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi seen as a likely candidate.
On Saturday, Egyptians passed a new constitution by a majority of 98.1 percent in a referendum boycotted by the Brotherhood.
The approval of Egypt’s constitution bolsters the powerful army chief but a large number of youths who helped topple two presidents within three years shunned the vote on the new charter.
Egyptian voters have approved the Tuesday-Wednesday referendum by 98.1 percent, officials announced Saturday, and the results are seen as nod to General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to run for president.
Sisi led the overthrow of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July following massive protests against his one year-rule, which came after a popular uprising in 2011 toppled his predecessor Hosni Mubarak.
Youth movements at the forefront of protests that ended the rules of Morsi and Mubarak hardly objected when the military-installed authorities launched a deadly crackdown on Morsi’s supporters.
Nor did they object when his Muslim Brotherhood movement was banned and designated a “terrorist” organisation.