Egypt refers dozens to trial over assassinating top prosecutor

The Egyptian prosecution referred on Sunday 67 loyalists of the now outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group to criminal court over charges of taking part in the assassination of the country's top prosecutor last year, official MENA news agency reported.

Egypt's Public Prosecutor Hisham Barakat was killed in a car bomb that was remotely blown off near his motorcade in eastern Cairo in late June 2015, leaving some of his guards injured as well.

According to the investigation of the Egyptian homeland security, the defendants were in contact with the Palestinian Gaza-based Hamas movement, and they plotted together with Brotherhood leading members to target a number of state figures to cause disorder and instability in the country.

The prosecution said the defendants received training in Hamas military camps in the adjacent Gaza Strip, where they were provided with the necessary explosive devices prepared for the operation.

Hamas has repeatedly denied any involvement in Barakat's assassination, and a delegation of Hamas has recently visited Cairo and made favorable statements in a bid to refresh ties.

Barakat referred thousands of supporters of former Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, who hailed from the Brotherhood group, to trial over various charges related to violence and terrorism.

Morsi was removed by the military in July 2013 following mass protests against his one-year rule. His ouster was followed by a massive security crackdown on his loyalists that left hundreds of them killed and thousands arrested.

Since then, anti-government terror activities mounted in Egypt, killing hundreds of police and military men with a Sinai-based militant group loyal to the Islamic State claiming responsibility for most of them.

On early Sunday morning, unknown gunmen shot dead eight policemen in Helwan district, south of the Capital Cairo, according to a statement from the Egyptian interior ministry. Endit