CAIRO

The Muslim Brotherhood on Tuesday has temporarily appointed Mahmoud Ezzat as interim chief after Muslim Brotherhood's supreme leader Mohamed Badie was arrested early on Tuesday.

Ezzat will serve as the interim supreme leader of Ikhwan until Badie is released, according to the internal regulation of the Brotherhood.

Ezzat, currently a professor in Zagazig University’s College of Medicine, is also renowned for his expertise in Islamic studies.

In the early hours of Tuesday, Egyptian authorities announced Badie's arrest in an apartment near Cairo's Rabaa al-Adawiya Square, where a six-week-old sit-in by supporters of ousted President Mohamed Morsi was violently dispersed by security forces last week.

Badie was later moved under heavy guard to Cairo's maximum-security Al-Aqrab Prison.

Badie is facing alleged charges of incitement to murder and violence.

englishnews@aa.com.tr