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Mahmoud Ezzat named as Muslim Brotherhood interim chief

Iran Press TV

Tue Aug 20, 2013 12:30PM GMT

Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood has designated Mahmoud Ezzat as its interim chief, following the arrest of the party’s leader, Mohamed Badie, by security forces.

"Mahmoud Ezzat, deputy leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, will assume the role of supreme guide of the group on a temporary basis after the security forces of the bloody military coup arrested supreme guide Mohamed Badie," the website for the Freedom and Justice Party, the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood, said on Tuesday.

The appointment of Ezzat, a deputy of Badie’s, to head the party on an interim basis followed immediately after the party's leader was arrested in Cairo’s Nasr City on charges of inciting violence.

Earlier, Badie's son, Ammar, was shot dead during a demonstration in the Egyptian capital.

Egyptian Authorties have arrested many Brotherhood members as the interim government pushes ahead with a deadly crackdown on the party and other supporters of ousted President Mohamed Morsi, despite international condemnations.

Almost 900 people, including nearly 100 soldiers and police, have died in the country since August 14, when security forces of the interim government launched a brutal crackdown on thousands of peaceful pro-Morsi protesters in Cairo.

Amnesty International has called for a thorough and unbiased probe into the August 14 massacre.

On Monday, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said he was "deeply disturbed" by the death of 37 Muslim Brotherhood detainees on the way to a north Cairo jail, and called for a "full investigation to ascertain the facts surrounding this incident."

Human Rights Watch also urged Egypt's rulers to "urgently reverse" instructions for police to use live ammunition against protesters.

The European Union's ambassadors assembled in Brussels on Monday for a first round of talks focusing on the recent violence in Egypt, and at the same time EU foreign ministers are to review the bloc's ties with the North African country during a session scheduled for Wednesday.

The EU has said nearly five billion euros ($6.7 billion) in aid to Egypt is under review since Morsi's ouster by the army on July 3.

MRS/PR