Egypt: Bomb suspects targeted US, French embassies

CAIRO (AP) — Egyptian state prosecutors say three suspected al-Qaida-linked militants detained over the weekend were plotting to attack the U.S. and French embassies in Cairo using car bombs.

The prosecutors were quoted by the official MENA press agency on Wednesday.

Officials said when they announced the arrests Saturday that the men had been in contact with Dawood al-Assady, a leader of al-Qaida in southeast Asian countries, and that the group was planning suicide attacks on government buildings and a foreign embassy.

The interior minister denied that al-Qaida is active in Egypt, but said the three men were in contact with al-Qaida militants abroad.

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Christian teacher to be tried in Egypt for insulting Islam

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Verdict in trial of Egypt activist on June 3

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt's state news agency says judges have decided to keep a prominent activist in detention until June 3, when a verdict is expected on a charge of insulting the country's president.

Ahmed Douma is the first to be tried on the charge, punishable by up to three years in prison. He was detained April 30 following a complaint by a member of the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood group, from which President Mohammed Morsi hails. Douma held Morsi responsible for recent bloodshed, calling him a "criminal" in a TV interview.

The news agency said at the court session Monday, police clashed with Douma's supporters and lawyers.

Lawyer Sameh Ashour told the judges Douma's comments fall within his right to freely express his opinion and should not be considered a criminal offense.

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Egypt court upholds acquittals in 2011 battle

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt's highest appeals court on Wednesday upheld the acquittals of 24 loyalists of Hosni Mubarak who were tried for having organized a medieval-style attack in which the ex-president's supporters riding camels and horses attacked anti-government demonstrators, a pivotal moment in the country's 2011 uprising.

The decision by Judge Hamed Abdullah of the Court of Cassation raised calls for new investigations into the so-called "Battle of the Camel" on Feb. 2, 2011 in Cairo's Tahrir Square, The attack set off clashes that lasted into the next day and left nearly a dozen dead.

The text of the judge's decision was not immediately available. In the original October verdict, judges argued that witnesses were unreliable and there was weak evidence against the defendants, who included some of the biggest names in the Mubarak regime. Nearly all the officials accused of complicity in the killing of more than 800 protesters during the uprising have been acquitted, angering the families of the victims and other Egyptians who demanded that officials be held accountable for the brutal crackdown.

Lawyers said new evidence has emerged since the original trial. This makes the acquittals a key test for Egypt's President Mohammed Morsi, who has repeatedly vowed to seek retribution for those killed during the revolution. Morsi created a special prosecution office to re-investigate cases and promised new trials if new evidence emerged.

The Battle of the Camel was a memorable moment of the 18-day uprising. The assault played out worldwide on TV screens and proved to be a turning point in the wave of protests that led to Mubarak's downfall.

It followed Mubarak's emotional speech, saying he would eventually step down. That speech won him sympathy and thinned the crowds of protesters holding a sit-in at Tahrir Square, the heart of the uprising.

A rival demonstration staged by Mubarak supporters turned into the attack on the anti-Mubarak protesters. Amid the melee, a number of men on horses and camels rode into the square, trying to beat and trample the protesters. This sparked an all-out battle that lasted two days, with anti-government protesters flooding into the square to defend it. The two sides pelted each other with stones, bricks and firebombs. In the end, the Mubarak supporters were driven away.

The attack and the images of young protesters fighting back reversed sympathies and galvanized the uprising. Many Egyptians who were undecided about the uprising saw the attack as a desperate, last-ditch attempt to crush the revolt. Many accused Mubarak officials and pro-regime businessmen of paying thugs to carry out the assault.

The acquittals pose a dilemma for Morsi.

He faces calls from relatives of the victims and others to reform the judiciary, which his supporters charge is filled with Mubarak sympathizers. He removed the country's top prosecutor and appointed another. The opposition criticized that decision, saying Morsi was interfering in judicial affairs. It was later overturned by a court order, but his newly appointed chief prosecutor is still on the job.

Morsi commissioned a fact-finding commission and it delivered its report late last year raising expectations that new investigations would follow, but so far, no new probes have been announced. Lawyer Ahmed Ragheb, who was part of the fact-finding commission, said Wednesday's verdict gives Morsi's government a chance to act on its promise to mete out justice based on the new report's findings.

"This is a new test for the judiciary, not just the prosecution, and a new test for Morsi," said Ragheb. "This case shows that the defect is in the system as a whole — the police, prosecution and judiciary."

Calls to the chief prosecutor's office were not returned.

Some rights groups raised concern that in Egypt's highly polarized, post-Mubarak politics, the special prosecution process could be used to go after critics. These fears were particularly fueled as the judiciary became a battleground between Morsi, his supporters and their opponents.

On Wednesday, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said Egypt was facing a "critical moment" with mounting concerns over what she described as apparent efforts to limit the authority of the judiciary, a draft law that would impose "draconian restrictions" on civil groups and legal action targeting protesters, journalists and activists.

"People, including members of the security forces, responsible for very serious human rights abuses, such as the killing, torture, rape and other forms of sexual attacks on protesters, and ill-treatment of detainees, have in many cases not been properly investigated by the general prosecutors, let alone brought to justice," she said.

Anti-Morsi critics, including vocal activists and a prominent TV satirist, have been questioned and some were referred to trial for speaking out against some of his policies.

On Wednesday, a state security prosecutor referred to trial the editor in chief of the daily Al-Watan newspaper, and the paper's political editor. They are accused of allegedly publishing false information collected after a security raid on a suspected terrorist cell. The information included a hit list of prominent politicians, military, TV and religious personalities, according to the paper.

The paper said on its website that the editors, Magdy el-Gallad and Ahmed el-Khatib, refused to appear for questioning in line with a decision by an Egyptian journalists' union not to abide by orders issued by Morsi's new chief prosecutor until a legal challenge about his position is settled.

The paper has dismissed the charges, which can carry fines and up to three years in prison.

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Egypt appoints 9 ministers in limited reshuffle

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt's state-run news agency says Prime Minister Hesham Kandil named nine new ministers in the second cabinet reshuffle since Islamist President Mohammed Morsi assumed his post in August last year.

MENA reported the shuffle on Tuesday. New ministers include the finance, oil and investment portfolios. At least two are from Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood group, and others are also believed to be allies.

A presidential spokesman said last month that the government would consult with the opposition while planning the shuffle. But Egypt's main opposition bloc denied it received any calls from the presidency. The reshuffle falls short of opposition's demands to oust Kandil, whom they say failed to deliver key reforms.

Opposition leader Amr Moussa commented on the reshuffle by repeating demands for a national unity government.

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Egypt police: Men fire birdshot at PM's convoy

CAIRO (AP) — Egyptian police officials say five men in a pick-up truck fired birdshot at the prime minister's convoy during a traffic argument, not knowing he was inside.

They say Prime Minister Hesham Kandil's three-car convoy was on a Cairo bridge late Sunday when it encountered the speeding truck, and fired warning shots in the air to get it to move.

The men fired birdshot at the convoy. They later told police they didn't realize the prime minister was inside one of the tinted-windowed cars.

The men were promptly arrested. Police said they had apparently been racing to their home neighborhood after getting into a fight with people elsewhere.

Police officials, who spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to speak to the press, say the incident was not politically motivated.

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Egypt police in new protests demanding more rights

CAIRO (AP) — Dozens of Egyptian police officers disobeyed orders and stormed a superior's office in the capital, shut down a security directorate in the north and went on strike in the south in a new round of protests Sunday that threaten to unhinge the country's already weakened security force.

It was the year's third wave of strikes by police, who demand incentives to work, like better wages, greater firepower and more benefits.

The police force has not recovered from the days of the 2011 uprising that deposed longtime President Hosni Mubarak. His police were a symbol of the regime's unchecked powers and abuses, and they were forced from the streets in the early stages of the revolt by angry protesters.

After losing much of their power, now police are demanding more rights. Last month thousands of police stopped working for several days. In some cases, citizens found police stations closed.

In an effort to show support, President Mohammed Morsi addressed riot police and attended traditional Islamic Friday prayers with them shortly after their strike ended. He praised the police for protecting security but warned them against divisions.

The Interior Ministry, which oversees police in Egypt, relies on low-ranking police to protect government buildings. Hundreds of policemen have been wounded this year and several have been killed in anti-government protests.

Many officers say they are fed up with promises of reform. Thousands of low-ranking officers have refused orders to guard courts during heated trials and protests.

On Sunday, dozens of low-ranking officers stormed the office of the deputy interior minister in charge of health care for police. His office is inside the main police hospital in Cairo's Nileside neighborhood of Agouza. They said promises of better health care have gone unfulfilled.

In the south, police at two stations in the province of Assuit went on strike, charging that the government did not fulfill any of their demands.

In the Nile Delta province of Kafr el-Sheikh, police locked the gate to the security division with chains, according to security officials and state media reports.

Some of the police force is also calling for the dismissal of Interior Minister Mohammed Ibrahim, appointed by Morsi in a limited Cabinet shuffle in January. Five different interior ministers have headed the force in the past two years, and none has been able to exercise full control over the unsettled ranks.

Some policemen are also protesting alleged attempts by the powerful Muslim Brotherhood to try to control the force, a charge the Islamist group denies. For decades, Egypt's police aggressively targeted the Brotherhood, and Morsi himself was imprisoned under Mubarak.

Rights activists accuse the police force of continuing its brutal tactics under Morsi. Around 100 protesters have been killed in confrontations with police this year. There are concerns that a recent decision to purchase 100,000 new 9mm pistols for police could lead to an even greater use of excessive force against unarmed protesters and civilians.

Officer Mohammed Mustafa was among those who stormed the deputy minister's office in Cairo on Sunday. He told The Associated Press that the group ended its sit-in after superiors vowed to look into their demands, which include purchasing bullet-proof vests and enacting stronger laws to protect them.

Policemen say they are being arrested and put on trial for using lethal force to protect themselves against well-armed criminal gangs that are smuggling weapons, drugs and antiquities. He said they do not have enough protection to go after suspects.

They also demand the same benefits available to their superior officers.

Mustafa said neither he nor his family can be treated at the police hospital where the sit-in took place. He said he has to take his four children to rundown public hospitals, and he is allowed treatment at the police hospital only if he is injured on the job.

Many police complain that their wages are too low.

Though his salary has increased by almost three-fold following the uprising, Mustafa said he still earns only $185 a month. After 15 years on the job, low-ranking officers receive just $2,000 in compensation when they retire.

"Morsi, before he was president, promised that he would solve the problems of the police force," he said. "We want action, not words."

Also Sunday, several thousand students from state universities marched through Cairo, taking their demands to Cabinet headquarters. They called for the dismissal of the Minister of Higher Education Mustafa Mosaad, accusing him of allowing violence on campuses against student protests. They also want improvements in the education system.

Muslim Brotherhood students did not join the protest.

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Egypt president, judges compromising on reform law

CAIRO (AP) — The Egyptian president's office is indicating a compromise has been reached with the judiciary to defuse an uproar over a proposed law that would have forced out thousands of the country's most senior judges.

President Mohammed Morsi met Sunday with five top judges after more than a week of bitter arguing between Islamists and some in the judiciary over the disputed bill, which would lower the retirement age.

The president's allies say the courts are filled with loyalists of the deposed regime of Hosni Mubarak. The opposition accuses Morsi's backers of calling for reform of the judiciary as a cover to install their own supporters.

After the meeting, a statement from the president's office said Morsi is launching a conference to include judges in any laws about the justice system.

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Muslim-Christian relationship fuels row in Egypt

CAIRO (AP) — An alleged romance between an Egyptian Muslim college student and a Coptic Christian man heightened sectarian tension on Friday in a small rural Egyptian town where police fired tear gas to disperse stone-throwing Muslims who surrounded a Coptic church in anger over the inter-faith relationship, a security official and priest said.

The Muslim protesters accuse Saint Girgis Church of helping 21-year-old Rana el-Shazli, who is believed to have converted to Christianity, flee to Turkey with a Coptic Christian man.

Stories of conversions to Christianity or Islam, inter-faith romances and the illegal building and expanding of churches have caused a series of deadly sectarian incidents in recent years. Since Islamists rose to power after Egypt's 2011 uprising that forced out longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak, Christians have grown more fearful of intimidation and violence from fellow Egyptians, especially ultraconservative Salafis.

The alleged romance has been fueling sectarian tension for nearly two months in Wasta, a rural town in Beni Suef province, about 95 kilometers (60 miles) south of Cairo.

Muslims have attacked churches there and forced Christians to close their shops for nearly eight days last month and members of the Christian man's family have been arrested, including his mother and father, after a prosecutor accused them of collaborating in hiding the woman. The woman's family issued an ultimatum for the church to bring her back early this month, but when it didn't, violence erupted anew.

On Friday, ultraconservative Salafis distributed flyers accusing the church of "proselytizing Christianity," according to a copy of the flyer posted on a social networking site. It called on residents to rally inside a mosque located meters (yards) from the church to "rescue a Muslim soul and bring her back from the deviant path."

Father Bishoy Youssef of the church said he heard loudspeakers from the adjacent mosque calling on worshippers to join a march to the church for the sake of the girl. He said churches in Wasta had been forewarned about "threats to attack the churches" and scheduled early morning masses that would be finished before Friday prayers at the mosque.

"God protect us," he said. "We have nothing to do with this whole story,"

Clashes erupted when protesters hurled stones at security forces that had cordoned off streets leading to the church. Police fired tear gas, according to a security official, who added that police arrested five people, including the girl's uncle. According to the security official at the scene, two people were injured by gunshots and others suffered breathing problems from the tear gas.

Last month, another priest from the same church told Coptic Christian Karama TV network that protesters set his car on fire.

Like previous incidents, sessions to foster reconciliation were held with elders from the town, but extremists seemed intent on escalating the tension, Youssef said.

Abu Islam, a well-known extremist cleric who was tried in an Egyptian court for insulting Christianity, appeared last month on his television program, which is broadcast on The Nation TV, calling on Muslims to take action against any church network that seeks to convert Muslim women to Christianity.

"This girl is not coming back," he said. "The Christians mess with our honor and faith."

Also on Friday, a Christian girl disappeared in the southern ancient city of Luxor. A security official said the family of 20-year-old Rania Manqaryous filed a complaint with police accusing a Muslim man, who was a neighbor, of abducting their daughter.

Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

In the past, similar incidents have triggered deadly sectarian violence.

In 2010, the ultraconservative Muslim Salafis claimed that Camilla Shehata, a Coptic Christian wife of a priest, had converted to Islam, but was abducted by the church to force her to return to Christianity. Iraq's branch of al-Qaida used the incident as justification for an attack on a Baghdad church that killed 68 people, and threatened to conduct similar attacks in Egypt until the church released her. On Dec. 31, 2011, a suicide bomber killed at least 21 Christians at a church in the port city of Alexandria — an attack linked to the Shehata case.

In May 2011, at least 12 people were killed and a Cairo church was burned in clashes after a Christian woman had an affair with a Muslim man. When she disappeared, the man alleged that Christian clergy had snatched her and were holding her prisoner in a local church because she had converted to Islam.

Separately, dozens of mostly masked protesters hurled stones and firebombs in clashes with riot police at Egypt's presidential palace in a Cairo suburb. Protests have become a weekly occurrence in Egypt with unrest continuing since the 2011 uprising.

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Egypt proceeds with judiciary law despite uproar

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt's Islamist-led parliament on Wednesday pushed ahead with a law that could force into retirement many of the nation's most senior judges, despite an uproar by the judiciary over fears the president's allies want to control the courts.

The country's Judges' Union, which represents thousands of Egypt's judges, warned they would not recognize the law or even the discussions in parliament about it. They vowed to turn to international organizations, such as the United Nations and African Union, to investigate what they said are violations against the judiciary.

More than 6,000 judges from around the country gathered in Cairo Wednesday to decide on a strategy in their power struggle with President Mohammed Morsi.

The crisis over the judiciary is a reflection of the deep polarization that has split the country.

The judiciary, with mostly secular-minded professional judges, is seen by many Egyptians as the one of the only remaining buffers against Islamists' monopoly on power following the ouster of authoritarian ruler Hosni Mubarak in 2011. Since then, Islamist parties have swept elections and dominated legislative councils and the presidency.

President Mohammed Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood party counters that many judges are holdovers from the Mubarak era who must be replaced. Morsi's supporters engaged in violent street clashes last Friday with opponents over calls to "cleanse the judiciary."

In an escalation of the crisis, the legislative committee of the upper house of parliament voted in favor of three draft laws on the judiciary proposed by Islamist groups. It opened the floor for further debate.

One, proposed by Morsi's Freedom and Justice party, the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood, drops the retirement age for judges from 70 to 60, which would affect nearly a quarter of Egypt's 13,000 judges and prosecution officials.

The draft also would forbid the courts from reviewing or overturning presidential decrees issued by Morsi late last year, including his appointment of a new top prosecutor. The prosecutor remains in place despite a court order last month annulling his appointment.

The opposition vowed to step up its campaign against the bill. Activist groups who helped topple Mubarak, such as the April 6 Movement, are demanding reform of the judiciary and support its independence. April 6 warned in a statement against replacing remnants of Mubarak's regime with Morsi's loyalists.

The head of the criminal court in Cairo's sister city of Giza, Fahmy Munir, was among those at the Judges' Union meeting.

"We tell them, don't transgress against the judiciary," he warned the government, adding that violations against the judiciary are akin to "a challenge to the people."

Presidential spokesman Ihab Fahmy told reporters Wednesday that the Islamist president respects the judges.

"The president wants to contain the judiciary crisis," he said. "The president firmly stressed that it's unacceptable to hurt or encroach on the judiciary."

Among the setbacks the judiciary dealt the president's backers was disbanding the Islamist-dominated parliament last year, citing unconstitutionality of the election law. Last month, the courts challenged a law governing parliamentary elections that were supposed to begin this month, delaying the vote indefinitely. The president's party was pushing for early elections.

The proposal in parliament by the president's party also requires judges to oversee polling stations and punishes those who refuse to carry out their duties — though the job used to be voluntary. Last year, during the vote over a contentious draft of the country's new constitution that was written by Morsi's allies, many judges boycotted the vote to protest a decree that temporarily granted Morsi's decisions immunity from judicial review.

The head of the Judges' Union, Ahmed el-Zind, said they would not go on strike as many did last year, but they would seek international help.

During the parliamentary session, independent lawmaker Tharwat Nafaa ripped up a letter sent by the Judges' Union. The letter demanded the parliament stop debating the law because it said the constitutionality of the body was in dispute.

Before thousands of judges late Wednesday, union chief el-Zind questioned Nafaa's political affiliation. "Are you really independent?" he shouted during his lengthy speech.

The crisis over the judiciary also has prompted the resignations of top Morsi aides.

On Monday, the Morsi's top legal adviser, Mohammed Fouad Gadallah, resigned, saying he wanted to shed light "on the extent of the danger facing the country" at a time when "personal interests are overwhelming national interests."

Two days earlier, Justice Minister Ahmed Mekki submitted his resignation. He was a pro-reform judge under Mubarak before becoming a minister in Morsi's Cabinet. He was criticized by liberals for continuing to serve under Morsi, while Islamists chided him for not supporting the disputed bill.

___

AP writer Sarah El Deeb contributed to this report.

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Egypt court sets May 11 for Mubarak retrial

CAIRO (AP) — The Cairo appellate court has set May 11 for the resumption of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's retrial over the deaths of hundreds of protesters killed during the uprising that ousted him.

Mubarak remains in custody on new corruption charges, although earlier this week a court ordered him released before the retrial resumes next month. The new date was set after the judge in the case recused himself at the start of the retrial on Saturday.

In January, an appeals court overturned a life sentence for the 84-year-old Mubarak on a conviction for failing to prevent the killing of 900 protesters during the 180-day uprising in 2011.

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Egypt policeman sentenced to 15 years for torture

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Egypt policeman sentenced to 15 years for torture

Apr 15 (Reuters) - Leading money winners on the 2013 PGATour on Monday (U.S. unless stated): 1. Tiger Woods $4,139,600 2. Brandt Snedeker $3,137,920 3. Matt Kuchar $2,442,389 4. Adam Scott (Australia) $2,100,469 5. Steve Stricker $1,935,340 6. Phil Mickelson $1,764,680 7. Dustin Johnson $1,748,907 8. Jason Day $1,659,565 9. Hunter Mahan $1,553,965 10. Keegan Bradley $1,430,347 11. Charles Howell III $1,393,806 12. John Merrick $1,375,757 13. Russell Henley $1,331,434 14. Michael Thompson $1,310,709 15. Kevin Streelman $1,310,343 16. Bill Haas $1,271,553 17. Billy Horschel $1,254,224 18. ...

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Brotherhood members face torture charge in Egypt

CAIRO (AP) — Two Muslim Brotherhood officials have been sent to trial on charges of kidnapping and torturing three men during protests in November following Islamist President Mohammed Morsi's decrees, since rescinded, that granted him near absolute powers.

The case in the Nile Delta city of Damanhour north of Cairo is the first of its kind against Morsi's Brotherhood and is likely to embarrass the group at a time it is trying to fend off opposition charges of monopolizing power in the deeply polarized country.

Mohammed Bahnasy, a lawyer for the three victims, told The Associated Press on Sunday that the case was referred to trial a day earlier. The two Brotherhood local officials — Mustafa el-Khouli and Mohammed Abdel-Radi — have not been detained.

An arrest warrant has been issued for el-Khouli, who has failed to respond to a summons for questioning, according to Bahnasy. Abdel-Radi was questioned and released pending the start of the trial, according to him and another lawyer involved in the case, Mohammed Abdel-Aziz.

The Brotherhood's chief lawyer, Abdel-Monaim Abdel-Maqsoud, said the decision to refer the two to trial was "hurried" and described the investigation as "flawed."

He told the AP defense witnesses showed up at the prosecutors' office on Saturday to testify that el-Khouli and Abdel-Radi were innocent, only to be told it was too late.

"Everything will now have to wait for the trial," he said. "I am surprised at the speed with which this has been done. We have many cases of Brotherhood victims of violence and we have not seen any of them go to trial yet," said Abdel-Maqsoud.

He confirmed that the case against the two was the first of its kind since the ouster two years ago of autocrat Hosni Mubarak.

Bahnasy said the three men allegedly kidnapped and tortured were Mahmoud Ali, 17, Mohammed Mansour, 18, and Mustafa Farag, 21. He said the three were detained separately for up to five hours during clashes between supporters and opponents of Morsi at Damanhour's main square on Nov. 24.

El-Khouli was identified by Bahnasy and Abdel-Aziz as the administrative head of the Brotherhood's office in Damanhour. They said Abdel-Radi is a senior member of the local branch of the Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party.

The two were sent to court following a two-day sit-in by the three victims and their supporters outside Damanhour's prosecution office to protest against what they claimed was stalling on a trial.

The Damanhour case is just one of a series of bouts of political violence in the turmoil roiling Egypt since the overthrow of Mubarak's regime in February 2011.

The violence has deepened the political schism tearing Egypt apart since Morsi took office nine months ago as the country's first ever freely elected president.

At least a dozen offices belonging to the Brotherhood and its Freedom and Justice Party were ransacked, some torched, by protesters angered by Morsi's decrees.

The decrees gave immunity from the courts to an Islamist-dominated panel that drafted and hurriedly adopted a new constitution. The document was later ratified in a nationwide referendum.

One major bout of violence was on Dec. 5 when Morsi supporters were shown on video posted on social networking sites to be running impromptu detention centers outside the presidential palace in Cairo, where they tortured protesters during daylong clashes in the area.

The Brotherhood says at least 10 of its supporters were killed that day, but the opposition disputes the figure and maintains that Morsi supporters started the violence when they set upon peaceful protesters staging a sit-in outside the palace.

On March 22, the two sides clashed outside the Brotherhood's national headquarters in an eastern Cairo district. Both sides, according to witnesses, detained and beat members of the rival side during daylong clashes with rocks, sticks and firebombs.

The violence that day had its roots in an incident a week earlier when Brotherhood supporters assaulted a small crowd of protesters painting anti-Morsi graffiti on the street outside the Brotherhood's headquarters. One Brotherhood supporter was caught on camera slapping a female protester to the ground.

The Brotherhood maintains that its supporters were provoked and that they had pleaded with the activists not to paint abusive graffiti or plaster flyers on the headquarters' walls.

Morsi blames thugs for the political violence and accuses the opposition of providing political cover for it. The opposition, mostly liberal and secular, maintains that it does not condone violence.

Bahnasy said the referral documents leave no room for doubt that the alleged detention and torture of the three men took place in the Brotherhood's Damanhour offices and quotes witnesses as saying they had seen sticks, tasers and swords inside the group's headquarters.

"I will study every relevant legal book to prepare for this case," said Bahnasy, a native of Damanhour. "I will do nothing but this case and I will pursue it to the very end."

Mahmoud Duweir, a Damanhour activist, said he was at the city's main square when the Nov. 24 incident took place.

"All three came out with their clothes ripped. They had bruises and marks of blows from sticks on their bodies."

A Brotherhood supporter, Islam Massoud, was killed in clashes in the square a day later in a case that has been intensely publicized by the group.

The Brotherhood says he was killed by opposition protesters. But Bahnasy, Abdel-Aziz and Duweir insist he was slain by a single blow to the head by a Brotherhood supporter who mistook him for a protester during pitched street battles.

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After violence, Egypt opposition presses Morsi

CAIRO (AP) — After Egypt's worst sectarian violence in months left seven dead the past two days, Egypt's leading opposition figure Mohamed ElBaradei on Monday called on the Islamist president to make serious concessions to bring the opposition into decision-making, saying national reconciliation is the only way out of the country's myriad problems.

The violence, capped by an unprecedented mob attack on the main cathedral of Egypt's Coptic Orthodox Church, raised new alarm over the escalating turmoil in the country, which has been polarized over the administration of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi and Islamists' political power.

The opposition has blamed months of unrest on attempts by Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood, from which he hails, to monopolize power, accusing them of squeezing out other voices and failing to find consensus on major national issues, such as the controversial, Islamist-backed constitution passed in a December referendum.

Morsi supporters say he has repeatedly invited all parties into dialogue in the past and have accused the opposition of fueling street unrest to undermine the Islamists' election victories, including that of Morsi.

Morsi denounced Sunday's violence at the Cathedral, saying he considered any attack on the cathedral as an attack against him personally. He also ordered an immediate investigation into the violence and spoke with the head of the Coptic Church, Pope Tawadros II.

The Brotherhood's political arm, the Freedom and Justice Party, depicted the attack as a new part of the attempts to create chaos and destabilize Morsi.

On Monday, the party's secretary-general, Hussein Ibrahim, wrote on his Facebook page comments that whoever thinks that "igniting sectarian violence can bring down a ruling regime is mistaken. The fire of sedition if ignited in Egypt, God forbid, will burn all."

He too called for a serious dialogue, not by "staking out positions through satellite TV."

Senior opposition figure ElBaradei said Monday that the opposition is not ready to enter a dialogue with Morsi for show and that it first wants moves to indicate he is serious in seeking to heal rifts by meeting long-held opposition demands.

He said Morsi should appoint a new government, not packed with Islamists but instead based on merits and able to oversee upcoming parliamentary elections independently.

He said the opposition also demands an independent committee write the law governing the election without giving advantage to the Brotherhood, the country's most organized political force.

ElBaradei also said that a court order that annulled a Morsi decree appointing the country's top prosecutor must be respected and a new prosecutor installed to heal rifts in the judiciary and ensure trust in an independent prosecution.

Then, he said, the two sides could hold a dialogue on bigger national issues. "We are waiting for Morsi to understand that without national reconciliation, Egypt will not rise," ElBaradei told a gathering of opposition figures in a conference designed to offer solutions to Egypt's teetering economy.

"The state today is collapsing. It is a collapsing state politically, economically, socially and security-wise," said ElBaradei. "And I don't think we have long to fix this."

Attempts to seek comments from the presidency on ElBaradei's call were not immediately successful.

Despite an earlier round of talks between ElBaradei and members of the Brotherhood's party, the presidency has dismissed demands for appointing a new government and has so far stayed out of the dispute over the prosecutor. An election law is currently being reworked in the Shura Council, Egypt's current legislative body, which is dominated by Islamists.

The Muslim-Christian clashes that claimed the lives of seven since Friday were the country's deadliest sectarian violence since Morsi came to office in June. It began with sectarian violence in Khosoos, a town just north of Cairo, in which four Christians and a Muslim were killed.

Clashes erupted at the cathedral in Cairo — the seat of the Coptic pope — on Sunday during the funeral of the slain Christians.

During the funeral service, mourners chanted against Morsi, calling on him to step down. Witnesses say a street brawl broke out when Coptic activists tried to stop traffic to stage an anti-government march.

A mob, described by witnesses as residents of the area, pelted the Christians with rocks and firebombs and fired birdshot at them, forcing them back into the cathedral complex. The mob outside and the Christians barricaded inside then exchanged rocks and firebombs for hours into the night Sunday.

Many of the Christians denounced what they called a lack of protection for the funeral. When police did arrive in greater numbers, they fired tear gas, and gas canisters landed inside church grounds caused a panic among women and children, while people outside the church cheered. Some firebombs thrown from near the church landed at a nearby gas station, while witnesses said some in the church lobbed firebombs at the crowd outside.

Two people died during these clashes, one identified as a Christian. Police said they have arrested four implicated in the violence, but didn't provide details.

The pope was not in the cathedral at the time of the siege.

It is the second religious institution in Egypt to come under recent attack from civilians, with little police intervention. Last week, students from al-Azhar University stormed the offices of the grand sheik of al-Azhar, head of the country's most eminent Muslim institution, demanding he be held accountable for food poisoning at a dormitory that left hundreds of students hospitalized.

Hamdeen Sabahi, another leading opposition figure who came in third in Egypt's first presidential elections after the ouster of Hosni Mubarak, said the attacks on the cathedral and al-Azhar are attempts by some "to spread fear and darkness." He spoke at the same conference as ElBaradei.

The U.S. State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell, speaking to reporters in Washington, called for restraint on all sides, welcoming Morsi's promise to investigate the violence.

"We think it's very important for them to expeditiously investigate all acts of violence regardless of the situation in which it came about."

Christians make up about 10 percent of Egypt's estimated 84 million people. Copts have complained for decades that the Christian minority suffers from discrimination, and recurrent localized violence over issues of building houses of worship or inter-religious love stories that ignite Muslim-Christian tension.

But attacks against Christians have increased since the ouster two years ago of autocrat Mubarak, including more attacks on houses of worships and at times brief evacuations of a whole population of Christians from their villages. Christians have also increasingly worried about their freedom of worship and belief with Islamists increasingly empowered in Egypt's politics.

In a sign of the anger in the community over the siege of the cathedral, considered the symbol of the Coptic Church, a Christian activist group, the Maspero Youth Union, called on Morsi to step down, accusing him of spreading division and failing to run the country.

"Has the contempt for the sanctity of the dead and the contempt for Copts reached this level?" it said in a statement said.

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Egypt suspends tourist flights with Iran

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt has suspended tourist flights from Iran until June amid an outcry by ultraconservative Sunni Muslims angered over visitors from the mostly Shiite country.

The move comes just over a week after the first flights between the two countries resumed in more than three decades.

Tourist Minister Hesham Zaazoua didn't give a reason for the suspension late on Sunday, according to comments carried by Egypt's state news agency.

About 50 Iranian tourists visited south Egypt last week but drew criticism and protests from Egypt's ultraconservative Sunni Muslims who claim Iran is trying to spread its faith in the Sunni world.

Diplomatic relations were frozen after Egypt signed the 1979 peace treaty with Israel and Iran underwent its Islamic Revolution but ties warmed following the June election of Egypt's Islamist president.

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Egypt: Clashes outside Copt cathedral leave 1 dead

CAIRO (AP) — Christians angered by the killing of four Christians in weekend sectarian violence clashed Sunday with a mob throwing rocks and firebombs, killing one and turning Cairo's main Coptic cathedral into a battleground.

The clashes raised tempers in an already tense political atmosphere, as workers shut down the country's trains in a strike over wages and a dispute over the nation's chief prosecutor entered a new phase — all signs of two years of unending turmoil.

Reacting to Sunday's violence, the Muslim Brotherhood's political party blamed "dubious" attempts by unnamed parties to broaden instability in Egypt by igniting sectarian violence and spreading chaos.

A liberal opposition group, the Popular Current, said the clashes were symptomatic of the failure of the state to protect its citizens, calling on Islamist President Mohammed Morsi and his government to resign.

Morsi said in a statement late Sunday that he spoke to Pope Tawadros II by phone. He gave orders to authorities to guard the cathedral and citizens in the area, adding that protecting the lives of Muslims and Christians was a state responsibility.

"I consider any attack on the cathedral as an attack on me, personally," he said, according to the statement from his office.

The clashes at the St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Cathedral began just after hundreds of angry Christians left the complex to stage an anti-government march following the funeral for the four Christians killed in sectarian clashes Saturday.

A mob, described by witnesses as residents of the area, pelted them with rocks and firebombs and fired birdshot, forcing them back inside the complex. Few police were present.

By the time police arrived in larger numbers, the church was the scene of clashes between those locked inside and the mob outside, as the two sides exchanged rocks and firebombs. Police fired tear gas, and gas canisters landing inside church grounds caused a panic among women and children. People outside the church cheered.

Tawadros was not in the cathedral, his headquarters, during the funeral and the violence that followed. In a statement carried by the state news agency, said he was "regretful" of the violence and called for calm.

"There was no security outside the church for such a large funeral," said Emad Thabet, a Coptic Christian who was among those locked up in the church for hours. "There is no such thing as Egyptians in Egypt. There are only Muslims and Christians," he said. Copts have complained for decades that the Christian minority suffers from discrimination.

Coptic Christians make up about 10 percent of Egypt's estimated 90 million people. Attacks against Christians have increased since the ouster two years ago of autocrat Hosni Mubarak.

The clashes took place alongside a development in another of Egypt's many crises — questions surrounding the legitimacy of the country's top prosecutor. On Sunday, Egypt's highest judicial body urged him to step down less than five months after Morsi appointed him. A few days earlier, a court ruling declared his appointment void.

The statement from the Supreme Judiciary Council urged the chief prosecutor, Talaat Abdullah, "to express a wish" to return to his previous job as a judge for the sake of the unity of the judiciary.

There was no immediate comment from Abdullah. Officials in his office and in the government indicated before that he will appeal the court decision.

Abdullah's appointment in December set off demonstrations and protests by judges and fellow prosecutors. The protests forced him to tender his resignation, but then he withdrew it and stayed in office.

Removing Abdullah has been a key demand of the mostly liberal and secular opposition. Sunday's call by the council of the judiciary appeared aimed at offering him an honorable exit, a step toward ending the long-running crisis within the judiciary over the appointment.

During the past two weeks, Abdullah has issued summons against several media celebrities critical of Morsi, Egypt's first freely elected president. They included popular TV satirist Bassem Youssef, who was accused of insulting Morsi and Islam. The satirist was released on bail.

Alongside the sectarian and legal issues, the overriding economic crisis flared as Egypt's railway services came to a halt Sunday because of a strike by train drivers and conductors demanding better pay. The strike snarled inter-city transit, and thousands of angry passengers crowded train stations.

The most immediate issue was the specter of sectarian violence increasing and spreading to the rest of the country.

Sunday's clashes grew out of Khossous, a town north of Cairo, where five people, including a Muslim, were killed a day earlier. Renewed clashes erupted there later Sunday outside the local church, leaving 12 residents and one police officer injured.

At the cathedral on Sunday, witness Ibrahim Elsherif said the clashes began when angry Coptic protesters tried to stop traffic for an anti-government march. A street brawl turned quickly into an attack by local residents, who pelted the protesters with rocks from the roofs of nearby buildings, throwing firebombs and firing birdshot, he said. Some protesters smashed parked cars.

One Coptic Christian was killed in the violence, and at least 66 people were wounded, the Health Ministry said. Two local journalists were among those injured, one seriously, according to their newspapers.

Video aired live on the private ONTV network showed young men on the roof of a building next to the cathedral firing handguns toward the compound.

Inside the cathedral, several thousand mourners chanted slogans against Morsi, calling on the Egyptian leader to step down. They shouted "Leave!" and "This is our country, we will not leave."

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Egypt says it's committed to freedom of expression

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt's Islamist government is "strongly committed" to freedom of expression, a presidential spokesman insisted Wednesday, distancing the administration from legal proceedings against a popular comedian.

"The presidency did not submit any complaints" to the prosecutor's office, said spokesman Omar Amer.

The case of the comedian, questioned this week over accusations he insulted the president and Islam on his weekly TV show, has set off a wave of criticism from as far away as Washington.

Amer said President Mohammed Morsi's office was not involved in the investigation.

"Freedom of expression is guaranteed by the constitution, and there is a strong commitment toward it and there will be no deviation from that," he said.

Amer's comments echoed a statement issued by Morsi's office late Tuesday. It said it recognizes the "importance of freedom of expression and fully respects press freedom."

The complaints against satirist Bassem Youssef, the statement pointed out, were filed by "citizens." Youssef was released on bail after questioning.

Youssef's interrogation, as well as arrest warrants against five anti-government activists on charges of inciting unrest, have prompted Morsi's opponents to warn of a campaign to intimidate critics.

The Obama administration has expressed concern that Egypt may be backsliding in its transition to democracy. Secretary of State John Kerry said Tuesday that Washington has "real concerns about the direction Egypt appears to be moving in," adding that Egypt is at a "tipping point."

Amer denied that there was tension between Egypt and the United States.

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Egypt court stops extradition of top Gadhafi aide

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt's state news agency says an Egyptian court has ruled against the extradition to Libya of a former close aide of ousted dictator Moammar Gadhafi.

Ahmed Qaddaf al-Dam, a relative of Gadhafi who for decades coordinated relations between the Libyan and Egyptian regimes, had contested a Libyan request to extradite him following his arrest last month in his Cairo home.

Two other Libyan officials arrested alongside him have already been sent back to Libya.

Libyan authorities sought the men for alleged corruption and roles in Libya's eight-month civil war that ended with Gadhafi's death in 2011. Libya has already asked Egypt to handover around 100 other former regime officials.

The news agency said Egypt's Administrative Court suspended Wednesday the extradition procedures, saying al-Dam should be tried in Egypt.

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Egypt steps up campaign against TV satirist

CAIRO (AP) — Egyptian authorities on Tuesday stepped up a campaign against a popular TV comedian accused of insulting the president, threatening to revoke the license of a private TV station that airs his weekly program and angrily dismissing U.S. criticism of legal proceedings against him.

The satirist, Bassem Youssef, was questioned by state prosecutors earlier this week over accusations that he insulted Islamist President Mohammed Morsi and Islam. On his Jon Stewart-inspired show, Youssef frequently satirizes everything from the president's policies to his mannerisms, as well as hardline Islamic clerics, while highlighting contradictions in their comments.

The questioning of Youssef, along with arrest warrants issued days earlier against five anti-government activists on charges of inciting unrest, have raised warnings by opponents of Morsi of a campaign to intimidate his critics. A new case was opened Tuesday, with prosecutors looking into whether participants in a talk show on another private channel who criticized the Youssef case "endangered national security."

Morsi's supporters deny any campaign, saying prosecutors are merely enforcing the law and insisting that Youssef has crossed the line with his mockery.

The Youssef case turned into a side spat with Washington after U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland on Monday spoke of a "disturbing trend" of growing restrictions on freedom of expression in Egypt, pointing to the questioning of Youssef and the arrest warrants.

"There does not seem to be an evenhanded application of justice here," Nuland added, saying the Egyptian government has been slow to investigate police brutality or attacks on anti-Morsi protesters and journalists.

The Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party denounced Nuland's comments as "blatant interference" in Egypt's internal affairs.

Morsi's office joined in, criticizing the U.S. Embassy in Cairo after it tweeted a link to Monday night's episode of The Daily Show, in which host Stewart came to the defense of Youssef and criticized the Egyptian president, saying it was undemocratic to prosecute the Egyptian comic.

Replying to the embassy on Twitter, the presidency wrote, "It's inappropriate for a diplomatic mission to engage in such negative political propaganda."

Meanwhile, Egypt's top prosecutor, a Morsi appointee, asked state security prosecutors to investigate the head of another private TV network, ONTV, a presenter of a show on the network and a phone-in guest to the show over complaints they "disturbed public security" and insulted the judiciary, the state daily Al-Ahram and the Committee to Protect Journalists said.

The complaint was prompted when the guest, Shaimaa Abulkhair, a consultant with the New York-based CPJ, criticized the case against Youssef.

Morsi's government has sought to distance itself from the legal proceedings against Youssef, and the prosecutor's office has said it is not acting on the president's behest. Information Minister Abdel-Moneim Abdel-Maqsoud said the complaints against Youssef's show came from private citizens concerned over the prestige of Egypt's first freely elected president.

"Some of it (Bassem Youssef's criticism) is permissible. And some isn't. Some of it contradicts the morals of Egyptian society," Abdel-Maqsoud, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, said in a TV interview, professing his commitment to freedom of expression.

The government Investment Authority, which grants operating licenses to private TV networks, threatened to revoke the license of the CBC network that airs Youssef's show over what it called the show's violations of standards.

It said it has received complaints that in his program — titled "El-Bernameg," Arabic for "The Program" — Youssef ridiculed and insulted "symbols of the nation and prominent figures" and used sexual innuendos and indecent language. It said these acts violated rules against airing material not conforming with society's values and objectivity and warned that it would consider revoking the license if "the causes of the violations are not eliminated."

Bassem's show, aired every Friday, is preceded by a warning that it may contain "unsuitable content" and that it is only for viewers over the age of 18.

A trained heart surgeon, Youssef started his program online during the 2011 popular uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak. Since then he has become a sharp critic of Morsi, his Muslim Brotherhood and the Islamists — though he also regularly jibes against opposition figures as well.

In his questioning, Youssef was asked about an episode in which a guest comedian mocked people who build mosques just to escape real estate taxes — apparently one basis for the "insulting Islam" charge, according to Abulkhair, who attended the questioning.

He was also asked about a show in which he satirized a TV interview by Morsi on the night of the Oscar awards ceremony. In the bit, Youssef awarded Morsi a "best actor" prize for seeming to evade questions and gave the interview itself "best montage" for several visible cuts and edits.

Youssef was released on bail Sunday after the questioning while prosecutors decide whether to pursue charges.

In its reply Tuesday to the U.S. State Department, the Brotherhood's party said it received Nuland's comments with "extreme reservation."

It said Nuland gave the impression that "the issue is to do with insulting the president when in fact the core of the complaints is to do with contempt for the Muslim faith and ridicule of religious practices."

"If proven, this contempt constitutes a grave breach of the law, customs, social and cultural constants in the Egyptian society," the party said in a statement.

It made no mention of Nuland's comment on the slow pace of investigation into cases of attacks against anti-Morsi protesters and reporters or police brutality. Critics have said the addition of the insulting Islam charge against Youssef likely aims to taint him in the eyes of Egyptian Muslims.

Nuland dismissed the party's criticism, saying her comments reflected the U.S. government's position.

"Our point here yesterday was to say that rule of law needs to be applied appropriately in all circumstances. It's the same point that we make with regard to countries around the world. So no, we reject the notion that we were interfering," she said.

Youssef denies the charges of contempt for religion.

"Islam is a wonderful religion, it's a great and peaceful religion," Youssef, a Muslim himself, told CNN this week. "There are some people who claim to be the sole (representatives) of Islam; they are actually giving a bad image, and they're basically insulting the image of Islam."

The moves against Youssef and the activists come amid an intense polarization in the country between Morsi's Islamist backers and his opponents. Morsi's nine months in office has seen the country plunging deeper into an economic crisis, surging crime rates and a seemingly endless series of protests, strikes and deadly riots.

The Egyptian leader accuses the media and politicians he has not named of inciting violence and charged that foreign powers, which again he has not named, of meddling in the country's internal affairs. Islamist supporters of the president have increasingly called for action against the media, at one point holding a sit-in outside of TV network studios.

The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists called the escalation of anti-press "rhetoric" by Morsi and his supporters "deeply troubling."

One of Youssef's attorneys, Gamal Eid, said his case fits into a widening campaign against government critics, media personalities, and activists, saying "the prosecution has become a tool to go after the regime's opposition and intimidate it."

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Associated Press reporters Amir Makar in Cairo and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to his report.

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