Egyptian Prosecutor General Nabil Sadek referred the case of 503 opposition members to a military court over charges in three incidents related to “violence and rioting” in the Deir Mawas district, Minya Governorate, lawyers have said.
The lawyer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the referral was released 10 days ago, but he was only informed of it on Tuesday evening and the session was scheduled to start the next day.
He explained that the decision included the 299 defendants charged with storming the Deir Mawas police station, 119 others charged in the case of a government telecommunications centre and 85 others in an attack on the Public Prosecution building following the dispersal of two sit-ins at Rabaa and Al-Nahda squares on 14 August 2013.
The referral order, according to the lawyer, stated that “the defendants are part of a banned, outlawed group [the Muslim Brotherhood], and have participated collectively in storming and burning the Public Prosecution building, the Egyptian telecommunications company’s building, and the police station in Deir Mawas district.”
According to the decision, the defendants “incited violence, rioting and demonstrations against state institutions.”