Mursi Stands Trial over Conspiracy Charges

Local Editor

Deposed Egyptian president Mohammed Mursi appeared in court on Sunday on charges of conspiring with foreign groups to commit terrorist acts in Egypt, in a further escalation of the crackdown against his Muslim Brotherhood.
Declaring it "the biggest case of conspiracy in the history of Egypt," prosecutors have detailed a "terrorist plan" dating back to 2005.

Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood propelled him to victory in the 2012 presidential election but has been driven underground since the army took power in July after mass protests against his rule.

The state has declared the Brotherhood a terrorist group.

Egypt's Western allies have exerted little pressure on the Cairo government to end what critics say are widespread human rights violations.
Mursi is on trial in three cases and charged in two others.
In the latest one, the prosecutor also charged Brotherhood leaders Mohammed Badie, Khairat al-Shater, Mahmoud Ezzat and others with crimes including committing acts of terrorism in Egypt and divulging military secrets to a foreign state.

A total of 36 people are on trial.

The Brotherhood accuses the army of staging a coup and reviving a dictatorship, an allegation the military denies.
The prosecutor said the Brotherhood's plan was to send "elements" to the Gaza Strip for military training.
Upon their return to Egypt, they would join forces with extremist groups in the Sinai Peninsula, the Egyptian-controlled territory that borders Israel to the east, it said.
The prosecutor said they aimed to establish an "Islamic emirate" in North Sinai were Mursi not declared president.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team