Egypt Orders Arrest of Brotherhood Chief, Charges 200 over Deadly Clashes

Egypt's public prosecutor on Wednesday ordered the arrest of Muslim Brotherhood supreme guide Mohammed Badie and other top leaders of the movement for allegedly inciting violence that left dozens dead, judicial sources said.

At least 51 people were killed in clashes Monday outside the Republican Guard headquarters in Cairo where supporters of ousted president Mohammed Morsi were calling for him to be reinstated.

Among those wanted by the prosecution are leading Brotherhood members Mohammed al-Beltagui, Mahmud Ezzat and Safwat Hegazi, the sources said.

Badie and other leaders are already wanted for allegedly inciting violence in previous clashes in Cairo.

Later on Wednesday, Egyptian prosecutors charged 200 people over their involvement in the deadly clashes, mostly supporters of ousted Morsi, a judicial source said.

The 200 will be held for 15 days pending investigation into accusations of murder, incitement to violence, carrying unlicensed weapons and disrupting public order and security, the source told Agence France Presse.

A total of 650 people have been arrested over the clashes. The remaining 450 have been released on bail, the source said.

Meanwhile, a judicial source announced that a new public prosecutor has been appointed after the resignation of his controversial predecessor.

"The Supreme Judicial Council decided to approve the nomination of Hisham Barakat," the source told AFP, adding that Abdel Meguid Mahmud had resigned on Tuesday.

The controversial former prosecutor had said on Friday that he would step down, days after being reinstated, citing possible conflicts of interest in future prosecutions.

A longtime prosecutor under former dictator Hosni Mubarak, Mahmud was sacked by now deposed president Morsi in November as part of a decree in which the Islamist head of state granted himself sweeping powers.

The decree was eventually repealed under intense pressure from street protests, but the decisions stemming from it were protected by the constitution that was passed in December.