Imprisoned Muslim Brotherhood deputy refuses meeting with US, UAE and EU

Jailed Muslim Brotherhood deputy leader Khairat el-Shater has refused a meeting with regional and international envoys, telling them to speak with deposed President Mohamed Morsi, senior brotherhood members told Al Jazeera.

Earlier today, Egypt's interior ministry has denied that the visit between el-Shater and the envoys, from the U.S., United Arab Emirates, Qatar and the European Union, would take place.

The envoys have been meeting with allies of Morsi and the current military-backed administration in their bid to find a solution to the country's political crisis.

Morsi has been by the military in undisclosed locations since he was deposed on July 3.

Egypt's state news agency says the spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood and his powerful deputy will go on trial on Aug. 25 on charges related to the killing of protesters.

Brotherhood leader Mohammed Badie and his deputy Khairat el-Shater are accused of complicity in the killing of eight demonstrators outside the Islamist group's Cairo headquarters late on June 30 and early July 1, Al Ahram’s Arabic site reported. Badie is at still large, while el-Shater is in custody.

The killings took place during the first day of mass street protests calling for the ouster of President Mohammed Morsi, who was a longtime Brotherhood member.

The state news agency also said Sunday that senior Brotherhood figure Rashad Bayoumi will face trial on the same charges. Three others face murder charges in the same case.

Egypt's general prosecutor has issued an order to hold deposed president Morsi's chief of staff, Rifaa Tahtawi, pending investigation of charges related to last December's violent clashes at the presidential palace. Tahtawi's deputy, Ahmed Sheikha, is also being held.

The two men were both detained last month alongside Morsi, but these charges, and the 15-day detentions, are the first formal legal action taken against them.

The latest legal actions against members of the Muslim Brotherhood come as Egypt’s army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi met overnight with representatives of Islamist parties to try and resolve the crisis pitting supporters of ousted president Morsi against Egypt's new leaders, the army said Sunday.

Sisi "met with several representatives of the Islamist movements ... and stressed that there are opportunities for a peaceful solution to the crisis provided all sides reject violence," army spokesman Colonel Ahmed Aly said in a statement.

Since Morsi was removed from power in a military coup on July 3, his supporters have staged ongoing sit-ins in Cairo demanding the reinstatement of the democratically-elected president. 

Al Jazeera and wire services