Egyptian state prosecutors on Wednesday referred 12 leading Muslim Brotherhood members to criminal court on charges of "inciting violence and murder" in connection with June 30 clashes outside the group's Cairo headquarters in which ten people were killed.The list of defendants in the case includes former group leader Mahdi Akef, former youth minister Osama Yassin, leading group member Mohamed al-Beltagi, head of the Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) Saad al-Katatni, and former presidential adviser Ayman Hodhod.
The men are accused of shooting at anti-Brotherhood protesters from the windows of the group's headquarters in Cairo's Moqattam district during June 30 clashes between supporters and opponents of ousted President Mohamed Morsi, prosecutors said.
Three leading Brotherhood members are already on trial for the same charges: group leader Mohamed Badie and deputies Rashad al-Bayoumi and Khairat al-Shater.
Badie, al-Beltagi and Essam al-Erian – the latter of whom is still on the run – also face charges of inciting violence in connection with deadly July clashes on Giza's Bahr al-Aazam Street that left seven dead and dozens injured.
Egyptian authorities have unleashed a massive crackdown on the Islamist group since the violent August 14 dispersal of two pro-democracy sit-ins, in which hundreds of demonstrators were killed.
Last Thursday, security forces arrested another five leading Brotherhood members, including FJP legal adviser Ahmed Abu Baraka and former deputy governor of Alexandria Hassan al-Prince.
