埃及當局逮捕穆兄會領袖

Egyptian authorities have arrested Muslim Brotherhood spiritual leader Mohammed Badie, escalating a crackdown on the group following the military's ouster of president Mohamed Morsi.

The 70-year-old Badie was taken into custody early Tuesday in a neighborhood of eastern Cairo where for weeks pro-Morsi protesters rallied against Egypt's new interim government.

Badie is due to go on trial August 25 along with other Brotherhood leaders. Authorities accuse them of inciting deadly violence outside the group's headquarters in June, days before the military deposed Mr. Morsi.

Since the July 3 move, the official death toll for violence across Egypt has topped 1,000 people. The Muslim Brotherhood says many more people have died.

Meanwhile, Egyptian authorities may soon free former leader Hosni Mubarak, who has spent more than two years in custody following the 2011 popular revolt that drove him from power.

A court said Monday he could no longer be held on charges that he and his sons stole public money for presidential palaces. With that order, Mr. Mubarak remains in detention in connection with only one other case.

The former president's lawyer said he expected Mr. Mubarak would be released by the end of the week.埃及當局逮捕了穆斯林兄弟會精神領袖穆罕默德·巴迪，埃及軍方推翻總統穆爾西后，對穆兄會的鎮壓進一步升級。

星期二凌晨，現年70歲的巴迪被拘留在開羅東部的一個街區，幾星期來，支持穆爾西的抗議者一直在那裏集會，反對埃及的新臨時政府。

巴迪與其他穆兄會領導人將於8月25日受審。埃及當局指控他們6月在穆兄會總部外面煽動致命暴力。穆爾西在暴力發生後幾天被軍隊推翻。

自7月3日穆爾西被趕下臺後，埃及各地暴力不斷，官方公佈的由暴力導致的死亡人數已經超過一千人。穆斯林兄弟會說，死亡人數遠遠超過官方的數字。

與此同時，埃及當局可能很快就將釋放前總統穆巴拉克。2011年，穆巴拉克在民衆起義中下臺，此後被拘禁了兩年多。

一家法院星期一說，不能繼續以涉嫌侵吞公款罪名拘押穆巴拉克。在法院下達這項命令後，穆巴拉克只剩下一起罪案。

穆巴拉克的辯護律師說，預計穆巴拉克將於本週末獲釋。