Egypt's prosecutor general referred on Monday 504 supporters of deposed president Mohamed Morsi to criminal court on charges of attempted murder during last August's protests in downtown Cairo. The defendants were arrested in mid-August during clashes at Ramses Street in downtown Cairo, that followed the bloody dispersal of the pro-Morsi camps Rabaa Al-Adawya and Al-Nahda squares. According to the prosecution statement, the defendants are accused of "vandalising Al-Fath Mosque [on Ramses Street in Cairo's downtown] and halting prayers, killing for terrorist purposes, assembling [illegally], thuggery, vandalising public and private properties." They are also accused of assaulting security forces, possessing firearms and blocking roads. On 16 August, fierce clashes erupted between Morsi supporters and opponents, as well as with police at in Ramses Square in central Cairo. Around 1,500 pro-Morsi protesters sought refuge inside Al-Fath Mosque, demanding a "safe exit" from the area. Among the arrested was Turkish journalist Metin Turan who served 100 days in detention on charges of inciting violence before he was released, as well as Canadians John Greyson and Tarek Loubani, who remained in detention without charges until October. The violence in downtown Cairo left more than one hundred dead as both camps were armed. Since Morsi's ouster, thousands of Muslim Brotherhood leaders, members and sympathisers have been arrested. Source : Ahram online
