CAIRO – An Egyptian prosecutor referred 15 alleged members of the banned Muslim Brotherhood to a military court on violence-related charges, the state news agency reported on Sunday.
Egypt expanded the jurisdiction of military courts in October to permit them to try civilians accused of acts ranging from attacking state facilities to blocking roads.
It said that the change followed some of the worst assaults on security forces since 2013’s overthrow of President Mohammed Mursi of the Brotherhood.
According to the report, the accused are 15 students from Zagazig University in the Nile Delta who face charges including inciting riots, belonging to a terrorist organisation and protesting without a permit.
However, the Brotherhood was banned a year ago.
Thousands of its supporters have been locked up and hundreds were killed when security forces broke up two protest camps in 2013. (Reuters/NAN)