Supporters of ousted former President Mohammad Mursi on Wednesday called on Egyptians to hold protests against his removal on “Friday of Martyrs.” “We will remain steadfast on the road to defeating the military coup,” said a statement from The National Coalition to Support Legitimacy, a group demanding Mursi’s return to power, as quoted by Reuters. This last month has seen Egypt slip further into crisis, with 1,000 people killed in violence in the past week, according to AFP. Brotherhood arrests Authorities have recently stepped up arrests of the Muslim Brotherhood movement, from which Mursi hails. Overnight, they detained prominent Islamist Safwat Hegazy and Mourad Ali, a spokesman for the group’s Freedom and Justice political party. On Tuesday, Mohammad Badie, the Brotherhood’s general guide, was also detained, On the same day, the Brotherhood named deputy Mahmoud Ezzat to serve as interim guide. Badie and two other senior leaders of the organization are expected to appear before a court on Sunday to face allegations that they encouraged the murder of protesters in front of their headquarters on June 30. (With Reuters and AFP)
Aug222013