Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Mursi in murder charge probe
CAIRO: Ousted Egyptian president Mohamed Mursi is under investigation for an array of charges including murder, the state news agency said yesterday, stoking tensions as Egypt’s opposing political camps took to the streets.
Heeding a call by army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi for a popular mandate, thousands of people rallied in numerous Egyptian cities, welcoming the military’s pledge to confront weeks of violence unleashed by the July 3 overthrow of Mursi.
Supporters of the deposed Islamist leader staged counterdemonstrations to demand his reinstatement, shrugging off fears of a crackdown and vowing not to give in to an army demand for an immediate end to their protests.
State television screened images yesterday of the celebrations that erupted the night Sisi announced Mursi had been deposed. The narrator declared it “the day of liberation from the Brotherhood occupation”.
“Egypt against terrorism”, declared a slogan on the screen.
A Reuters witness said thousands of pro-Mursi activists clashed with pro-army protesters in Alexandria, some demonstrators hurling stones down on the crowds from nearby rooftops.
Mursi has not been seen in public since his downfall and the army has said he is being held for his own safety. But Mena news agency said he would now be detained for 15 days as a judge investigated a raft of allegations.
The probe centres on charges that he conspired with the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas to flee jail during the 2011 uprising against veteran autocrat Hosni Mubarak, killing some prisoners and officers, kidnapping soldiers and torching buildings.
Mursi has previously said locals helped him escape from prison during the 2011 upheavals and the Muslim Brotherhood denounced the series of accusations levelled against him.
“At the end of the day, we know all of these charges are nothing more than the fantasy of a few army generals and a military dictatorship,” Broth- erhood spokesman Gehad ElHaddad said. “We are continuing our protests on the streets.”
The army has threatened to “turn its guns” on those who use violence, while the Brotherhood has warned of civil war, denying suggestions that it is provoking trouble.
“I’m staying home all day, it’s too dangerous to work. I didn’t think things in Egypt could get this bad, but every day you hear about clashes and deaths,” said Shadi Mohamed, a 22-year-old taxi driver. “Egypt is a disaster.”
Signalling its displeasure at recent events, Washington said it had delayed delivery of four F-16 fighter jets to Cairo and called on the Egyptian army to exercise “maximum restraint and caution” during yesterday’s rallies.
Deputy Secretary of State William Burns, however, said on Thursday the Obama administration did not intend to rule on whether Mursi’s overthrow constituted a coup, wording that would have triggered a cut-off of US aid.
Mursi and other Brotherhood leaders were rounded up by the authorities during the 2011 revolt that swept Mubarak from power. Many managed to escape in the ensuing confusion, alongside militants from Hamas, a Palestinian offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood that governs in the neighbouring Gaza Strip. – Reuters