Egyptian cabinet gives police orders to shut down pro-Morsi protests

Egypt’s interim cabinet ordered police Wednesday to “use all necessary measures’’ to break up ongoing protests of the Muslim Brotherhood, whose members have occupied two city squares in Cairo since July 3, when ousted President Mohamed Morsi was removed from power.

The country’s military-backed government further increased pressure on the 85-year-old social, religious and political organization by referring three of its top leaders to court on charges of inciting violence, including Mohammed Badie, the Muslim Brotherhood’s spiritual leader.

While Information Minister Dorreya Sharaf el-Din said in a televised statement that the police are to end the demonstrations "within the law and the constitution,’’ the U.S. State Department released comments urging Egyptian officials to respect the right of peaceful assembly.

Members of the Muslim Brotherhood are fearful that there will be another bloody crackdown. Security forces have killed more than 130 protesters since public actions against Morsi’s forced departure began.

Ahmed Sobaie, spokesman for the Muslim Brotherhood's political arm, the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), derided the Cabinet decision as "paving the way for another massacre."

While Morsi is being held in an undisclosed location, other senior leaders are either already in detention or on their way. Of the three officials referred to prosecutors Wednesday for inciting violence, two were already in custody: Badie's deputy Khairat el-Shater and senior leader Rashad Bayoumi.

They are accused of inciting the killing of at least eight protesters outside the Cairo headquarters of the Muslim Brotherhood on the night of June 30 and early the next day. No date has been set for their trial, which will be held before a criminal court.

El-Shater and Bayoumi are in detention along with at least six other Muslim Brotherhood leaders and allies, including the group's former spiritual leader Mahdi Akef and Saad el-Katatni, head of the FJP.

For his part, Morsi is being investigated by government officials on charges of murder, stemming from a 2011 jailbreak when he escaped detention during the revolution that toppled longtime President Hosni Mubarak. 

Meanwhile, President Obama asked senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) Tuesday to travel to Egypt to meet with its military leaders and the opposition, as the U.S. struggles with how to address turmoil in the country.

The Senate rejected a proposal 86-13 Wednesday to redirect U.S. aid for Egypt into bridge-building projects in the U.S.

Sen. Rand Paul’s (R-KY) amendment to next year's transportation bill would have halted the $1.5 billion in mainly military assistance that the U.S. provides Egypt each year. He cited a U.S. law prohibiting aid after military coups and the need to reinvest the money domestically for reasons for why it should pass.

Source: Al Jazeera and wire services