Egypt prosecutors charge opposition leader with inciting violence News
Egypt prosecutors charge opposition leader with inciting violence

[JURIST] Egyptian prosecutors Thursday charged the co-founder of pro-reform opposition movement Kifaya [party website, in Arabic] with inciting unrest and violence in association with a nationwide labor strike last Sunday. George Ishaq and 60 other members of the Kifaya movement were arrested in a Wednesday night police sweep. Kifaya leadership has said the arrests are retaliation for Sunday's strike, which drew thousands participants to protest nationwide inflation. AP has more.

Last week, five members of another opposition group, the Muslim Brotherhood [party website; FAS backgrounder], were arrested [JURIST report] as they tried to hang campaign posters, joining the over 800 party members already in custody, including 148 council election candidates. Prosecutors also announced that an additional 147 members are under investigation [JURIST report] for causing riots during unauthorized protests against the government. The Brotherhood, which has accused the government of blocking its efforts to field candidates in the election, responded by calling for a boycott of Tuesday's municipal elections [MP statement; press release].