Egypt puts 296 Muslim Brotherhood defendants on terror list

Cairo Aug 31 (IANS) An Egyptian court has decided to place 296 defendants loyal to the banned Muslim Brotherhood on the country s terror list for three years.

The defendants admitted during investigations that they joined the group which was deemed as hampering the rule of law and harming national unity through temptations to topple the ruling authority according to the Cairo Criminal Court on Wednesday Xinhua reported citing MENA news agency.

The defendants confessed committing acts of violence against people and vital facilities of Armed Forces and police.

On Tuesday the court made a similar decision against 56 brotherhood defendants.

Egypt has been launching a massive crackdown on the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group since former President Mohammed Morsi a brotherhood leader was removed by the military in July 2013 after mass protests against his one-year rule.

A later dispersal of pro-Morsi sit-ins in the capital and nearby Giza left about 1 000 killed and thousands more arrested and facing mass trials.

Since then growing anti-government terror attacks left hundreds of police and military men killed with most of them claimed by a Sinai-based militant group loyal to the regional Islamic State (IS) group.

A judicial panel in charge of the group s capital chain has previously seized funds of several Brotherhood-run businesses including supermarkets and private schools.

--IANS
pgh/