62 Islamists referred to Criminal Court

General Prosecutor Hisham Barakat referred 62 people to the Cairo Criminal Court on charges of committing acts of violence in Ramses Square in July, including attempts to storm the Azbakeya police station and targeting police officers, MENA reported on Sunday.

The prosecution has charged the defendants with attempted murder, thuggery, possession of unlicensed weapons, vandalism, blocking roads and illegal gathering.  

Seven people were killed on July 15 in clashes between supporters of deposed President Mohamed Morsi and police forces that were concentrated on the October 6 Bridge near Tahrir Square, Ramses Square, Nahda Square and the Bahr al-Aazam area.

Investigations showed that protesters attempted to storm the Azbakeya police station using fire arms and Molotov cocktails but were stopped by both security forces and the area’s residents. MENA reported that 27 police officers and 40 residents were injured in the violence.

A month later, groups of protesters attempted to storm the nearby Azbakeya police station and clashed with police and local residents after Brotherhood marches had converged on Ramses Square, protesting the forcible dispersal on August 14 of the sit-ins demanding the reinstatement of Morsi.

Other Muslim Brotherhood leaders implicated in the violence include Supreme Guide Mohamed Badie, Freedom and Justice Party deputy head Essam al-Erian, Brotherhood leader Mohamed al-Beltagy, Jama’a al-Islamiya leader Assem Abdel Maged, and Islamist preacher Safwat Hegazy.

The prosecution charged the defendants with attempted murder, thuggery, possession of unlicensed weapons, vandalism, blocking roads and illegal gathering.  

Meanwhile, the Giza prosecution ordered the detention of Hegazy for 15 days pending investigations into his involvement in the violence that occurred near the Istiqama Mosque last month.

Hegazy faces charges of inciting murder, thuggery and running an armed mob, although he denies the charges, claiming that he has been framed, Al-Ahram reported.