Egypt court orders detention of Morsi over Hamas links

Cairo, July 26: An Egyptian court has ordered the detention of ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi for questioning over colluding with Palestinian militant group Hamas to storm police stations and jails during the 2011 uprising.

Morsi, 61, will also be quizzed on whether he collaborated with Hamas in attacks on police stations and prison breaks in early 2011 during the revolt against former president Hosni Mubarak, MENA news agency reported. This is the first official word on Morsi's status after he was ousted on July 3 by the Army. The judicial detention was initially ordered for 15 days.

The alleged crimes are being investigated by a Cairo court that is tasked to determine how inmates broke out of a prison late January 2011, after accusations that Morsi's Islamist group sought the help of the Hamas rulers of Gaza. Many Islamist leaders, including Morsi escaped during the prison breaks.

The international community had called on the Egyptian state to legalise the position of the former president. Army chief Gen Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has called on people to take to the streets today to give the military a mandate to confront violence and "terrorism". Supporters of Morsi are also due to protest.

According to the plan announced on social media, the protests are to reach the Tahrir square and the presidential palace before the break of the fast. The Grand Shaykh of Al-Azhar, the highest Sunni institute, issued a statement calling on people to join the protests and abide by peacefulness.

Egypt's first democratically elected leader, Morsi was ousted by the army after mass protests against him on the anniversary of his election. He has been held by the army at an undisclosed location since then.

PTI