Egypt charges 215 from Muslim Brotherhood

CAIRO // Egypt’s public prosecutor has referred 215 members of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood to trial on charges of forming an armed militant group – the latest move in a sustained crackdown by authorities on extremists.

Egypt has mounted one of the biggest crackdowns in its modern history on the Brotherhood following the army’s overthrow of former president Mohammed Morsi, the country’s first freely-elected president, in 2013 after mass protests against his rule.

The 215 defendants were charged with forming a militant group called “Helwan Brigades”, public prosecutor Hesham Barakat said on Sunday. Helwan is a district in southern Cairo.

The prosecution’s investigation said that the group was responsible for killing at least six policemen and wounding several civilians and policemen in separate attacks in Cairo. The group also had possessed weapons and ammunition.

Of the group, 125 members are in detention. Mr Barakat has ordered the arrest of those at large.

Thousands of Brotherhood supporters have been arrested and put on mass trials in a campaign which human rights groups say shows the government is systematically repressing opponents.

Harsh sentences, including life in prison and the death penalty, have been handed down in swift trials.

President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, who as army chief toppled Morsi, describes the Brotherhood as a major security threat. But the movement says it is committed to peaceful activism.

* Reuters, additional reporting from Associated Press