Talaat Abdallah, who served as Prosecutor General during most of ousted president Mohamed Morsi's tenure, was put on a no-travel list pending investigations, according to state-owned MENA. Abdallah, and his two deputies Hassan Yassin and Ayman Al-Werdany, were banned from travel following the opening of investigations. The three judicial officials face accusations of planting bugs in Abdallah's office and using influence for illicit gains. Current Prosecutor General Hisham Barakat, who was appointed following Morsi's removal from power, filed the case against the three prosecutors. Abdallah's appointment last November sparked controversy when Morsi removed Mubarak-era prosecutor Abdel-Meguid Mahmoud and carried out the appointment himself, rather than allowing the Supreme Judiciary Council to select a new prosecutor general. The travel bans come at a time in which some members of Morsi's government and Muslim Brotherhood leadership have been subjected to arrests and crackdowns. On Wednesday, the prosecution ordered 15 days detention for Mohamed Al-Beltagy pending investigations concerning allegations that the senior Freedom and Justice Party leader detained and tortured people at the pro-Morsi sit-in at Rabaa Al-Adaweya. Al-Beltagy was arrested last week near Cairo and was already ordered 15 days detention for other charges that included inciting torture, murder, and terrorism. After his detention, Al-Beltagy told prosecution that he was being held for "trumped-up charges," calling his arrest politically motivated.
