Muslim Brotherhood leader sues al-Sisi for ‘coup’, violence

Senior Muslim Brotherhood leader Essam al-Erian filed a legal complaint accusing Egyptian Defense Minister Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi of staging a "coup" against elected president Mohamed Mursi and of being responsible for the subsequent political violence which has rocked the country. "My father is accusing al-Sisi of staging a coup against the elected president and being responsible for violence against peaceful protesters since the coup," al-Erian’s son, Ibrahim, told Anadolu Agency. Noting that prosecutors had heard his father’s allegations against the top general, Ibrahim said, "but no results have been announced yet". Defense lawyer Sayed Nasr confirmed that prosecutors had heard al-Erian’s complaint against al-Sisi. Nasr, however, pointed out that prosecutors had not yet investigated an earlier legal complaint against al-Sisi filed by senior Muslim Brotherhood figure Khairat al-Shater, who is currently detained along with most other Brotherhood leaders. Al-Sisi is widely seen as the chief architect of Mursi’s July 3 ouster by Egypt’s military establishment following mass protests against his presidency. The unconstitutional change of government is described by the ousted president’s backers as a military coup, while supporters of the move call it a military-backed "popular uprising". Lawyer Moustafa Azab said that around 1,500 complaints had been filed against those he described as "the coup leaders". "Some complaints have also been filed in South Africa, in addition to 200 complaints lodged with the United Nations, regarding crimes committed against pro-democracy demonstrators" in Egypt, he said.