CAIRO
Egyptian prosecution authorities on Monday referred 504 supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi to a criminal court on charges of having committed acts of violence in central Cairo last summer.
The charges relate to violence in Cairo's Ramses Square last August, two days after the violent dispersal of two pro-Morsi sit-ins in Cairo and Giza in which hundreds of demonstrators were killed.
In the ensuing violence in and around Ramses Square, some 210 people were killed and scores injured, according to prosecutors.
Dozens of protesters took refuge from the violence inside the nearby Al-Fath Mosque, where they remained holed up before finally being rounded up by security forces.
Prosecutors accuse the defendants of "defiling" the mosque, premeditated murder and attempted murder for "terrorist" purposes.
Morsi supporters deny the charges, accusing police of arresting protesters indiscriminately.
By Sayed Fathi
englishnews@aa.com.tr
