20 Aug 2013

Muslim Brotherhood leader arrested

1:07 pm on 20 August 2013

Security forces in Egypt have arrested the spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood.

The state news agency reported on Tuesday that Mohamed Badie was detained at a residential flat in Nasr City in northeast Cairo.

The Facebook page of the Interior Ministry showed a picture of Mr Badie sitting in a car between two men in black body armour, with a caption confirming his arrest.

Mr Badie is the Brotherhood's General Guide. He was charged in July with inciting violence along with other Brotherhood officials and is due to stand trial on 25 August with two deputies.

The BBC reports his son Ammar Badie, 38, was shot dead during protests in Ramses Square several days ago.

A state of emergency is in force in Egypt and hundreds of members of the Brotherhood have been detained over recent days. A dusk till dawn curfew is also in place.

Thirty six protesters died in a prison van in the capital Cairo on Sunday.

Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim told Al Masry Al Youm, a newspaper, that Mr Badie was arrested in the early hours of Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the BBC reports a lawyer for Hosni Mubarak said on Monday he hopes the former leader could be released from prison within the next two days.

Mubarak is facing a retrial for corruption and complicity in the deaths of protesters during the 2011 uprising which ended in his removal from power.

The BBC reports that his release would be seen by many Egyptians as a signal that the military is rolling back the changes since the upraising in 2011.

Prosecutors have ordered that ousted President Mohammed Morsi be detained for a further 15 days while they investigate fresh accusations against him. He was deposed by the army on 3 July.

Police officers killed in Sinai peninsula

Twenty five police officers have been killed in the Sinai peninsula. Two buses in which they were travelling were ambushed outside the town of Rafah.

They were reportedly ordered out of the buses before being shot in the back of the head.