CAIRO
Egypt's Prosecutor-General Hisham Barakat on Monday remanded three policemen into custody and ordered the arrest of two other in connection with the death of 36 Muslim Brotherhood detainees while being moved to a jail in northern Cairo.
A judicial source told Anadolu Agency the five policemen would be questioned on the circumstances of the incident.
He added that the prosecutor-general also ordered the questioning of a high-level police officer, declining to identify his name or position.
The Interior Ministry said 36 Muslim Brotherhood members remained into custody died Sunday because of "gas inhalation and stampede" during an attempt to escape from a police vehicle moving them to a jail complex in northern Cairo.
In a statement published on its website, the ministry said it brought the situation under control after freeing a police officer earlier held by the detainees.
The statement said the police force accompanying the detainees was able to "prevent any of them from escaping."
The National Alliance for the Defense of Legitimacy, a coalition of largely Islamist parties and figures supportive of ousted President Mohamed Morsi, has demanded an international investigation into the killing of the detainees.
It accused the army-backed interim authorities of "a systematic violence against and cold-blooded murder of anti-coup protesters."
Morsi supporters describe as "military coup" his ouster by the powerful army on July 3 following mass protests against his regime.
englishnews@aa.com.tr
