Ex-President Morsi On Trial for "Inciting Murder"

A military-backed prosecutor referred ousted Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi to trial Sunday on charges of inciting the murder of at least 10 people, as Egypt's authorities continue to crack down on the Muslim Brotherhood.

The former president will be tried in a criminal court along with fourteen other members of the Muslim Brotherhood, state news reported Sunday. The state prosecutor charged Morsi with "committing acts of violence, and inciting killing and thuggery," which lead to the deaths of at least ten people last December. The violence occurred on December 4, when thousands gathered outside the presidential palace to protest against a decree that expanded the leader's powers and were forcefully broken up by Morsi supporters.

But according to an expert from the Middle East Institute in Washington, the move is primarily a political one on the part of the government.

"The military and the state are trying to push the Brotherhood to lose any hope that he will be reinstated. It’s an attempt to paralyze the movement, and affect its activism," the expert said. "It’s very symbolic — this is a political move by the state against the Brotherhood."

Morsi was ousted and detained by the military on July 3 after millions marched demanding his resignation — Sunday marks the first time that Morsi is officially referred to trial.

Another more, er, unusual suspect was also arrested in Egypt this weekend: a stork. Really.

A man found the bird near his home, immediately suspecting it of being a spy because of an electronic device attached to its leg. It was taken into custody at a police station and examined by a veterinary committee — after which it was concluded that the device was a wildlife tracker used by French scientists to study migrating birds.

Below, a picture of the winged fiend:

[Image: via Associated Press]