Three former Egyptian presidential candidates have been accused of espionage and plotting against the state, according to a complaint referred by Egypt’s public prosecutor on Tuesday.
Mohammed ElBaradei, Hamdein Sabahy and Amr Moussa are being scolded for allegedly being embroiled in a "Zionist plot" to overthrow the Islamist-led government of Mohammed Mursi, Egypt's al-Masry al-Youm newspaper reported.
Earlier this week, founder of the Constitution Party ElBaradei, head of the Conference Party Moussa and founder of the Popular Current Party Sabahy all declared their support and participation in the ongoing sit-in in Cairo’s Tahrir Square until Mursi’s constitutional decree is revoked.
The complaint against the former presidential candidates, as well as Wafd party leader Sayed Badawi was filed by Hamed Sadek, a lawyer, claiming that the prominent opposition leaders “secretly met Israel's former foreign minister Tzipi Livni to drum up domestic turmoil and bring the country to its knees.”
Opponents of Islamist President Mursi marched on the presidential palace on Tuesday to protest his power grab and a controversial draft charter, defying his presidential decree barring any judicial body from dissolving the assembly, which adopted the draft constitution amid a boycott by liberals and Christians.
The Nov. 22 decree sparked the current crisis, with the constitution, which had been due for more deliberation, being rushed through days later amid popular unrest.
Mohamed ElBaradei’s Al-Dostour Party condemned the decision to move forward with the referendum despite the Constituent Assembly’s legitimacy being questioned in court.
The Guardian reported that while the president's office remained quiet about the matter on Tuesday, “speculation that a statement would be issued by Mursi was denied by his spokesman Yasser Ali, who said the presidential team was going about its work within the presidential palace in a normal manner.”
