The Muslim Brotherhood Supreme Guide Mohamed Badie and other members of the outlawed group were referred to a criminal court Tuesday over new crime-related charges, according to a statement from General Prosecution.
The defendants face charges of forming and participating in an armed gathering at the pro-Muslim Brotherhood sit-in at Rabaa al-Adawyia Square in 2013, according to the statement.
They also face numerous charges including blocking roads, restricting freedom of people’s transporting, murdering civilians and police personnel tasked to disperse the assembly, and sabotaging public and private prosperities.
The said charges are based on testimonies of residents living in the vicinity of Rabaa al-Adawyia Square, the statement noted.
The defendants also face charges of endangering the people’s lives, disrupting public safety, and possessing guns and bladed weapons during the period of time between June 21 and August 14, 2013.
Calling for the reinstatement of former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi who was ousted by the military in July 2013, Muslim Brotherhood members and supporters have staged two big sit-ins at Rabaa al-Adawyia and Nahda squares.
The sit-ins were forcibly dispersed on August 14, 2013 by security forces; more than 600 people have been killed in the dispersal, according to state-owned human right organization. However, international human rights groups stated that more than 1,000 people were killed.
Badie has been sentenced to death three times; the first was in the 2011 prison break case. The other two cases were over inciting violence; one of them was nullified while the other was upheld. He has collected total jail sentences of 104 years in seven cases so far, according to Youm7.
