Egypt’s deposed president Mohammed Morsi to stand trial over Cairo protest deaths

Desposed President Mohammed Morsi has been detained since July (AP)

Egypt’s deposed President Mohammed Morsi is to go on trial for allegedly inciting his supporters to kill protesters demonstrating outside his palace while he was in power, it was reported.

Egypt’s state news agency said that the country’s top prosecutor had referred the case for trial.

The military ousted Mr Morsi on 3 July after millions of people took to the streets calling for him to quit. He has been detained ever since.

Mr Morsi and 14 members of his Muslim Brotherhood movement will be prosecuted for allegedly inciting attacks on demonstrators in December last year.

Egypt’s Al Ahram newspaper reported that investigators were accusing Mr Morsi and his staff of ordering supporters to attack peaceful protesters who gathered outside the palace.

Republican guards and interior ministry security personnel had refused to obey orders to do so, the paper said.

Brotherhood officials deny using violence to quell the protest and said their supporters were defending the palace. They accused Morsi’s opponents of starting the fighting.

After Mr Morsi’s overthrow, his supporters staged sit-ins in squares in Cairo for about six weeks until security forces moved in. About 600 people were killed in the operation to clear the square.