Cairo
(AsiaNews) - Egypt's public prosecutor, Talaat Ibrahim Abdallah, has ordered an
inquiry into the leaders of the National Salvation Front, Hamdeen Sabahi, Amr
Moussa and Mohammed ElBaradei. Appointed by President Mohammed Morsi, Abdallah
wants the three opposition leaders, the last two former presidential candidates
against Morsi, investigated on charges of "incitement" to overthrow the
government and high treason. All three have led mass demonstrations against Mohammed
Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood and Egypt's new Qur'an-based constitution.
The
legal action against the three main pro-democracy leaders comes amid criticism
against the constitutional referendum, deemed invalid because of a low turnout
(one third of the electorate) and numerous cases of electoral fraud by
Islamists.
Unconcerned
by the prevailing atmosphere of tensions, President Morsi signed the
constitution on 26 December. Shortly, he will also announce the official date
for new parliamentary elections.
The
decision by the pro-Islamist prosecutor is further exacerbating tensions
between Egyptians in favour of a secular state and defenders of a Sharia-based government,
bringing the country that much closer to a civil war.
In
an article published today al-Ahram
online, some diplomats close to the opposition said that they had come
under pressures from their superiors who want to silence all criticism against
Morsi.
According
to one diplomat, Egypt is now turning into a dictatorship. "I was summoned into
the office of the assistant (foreign) minister," he said. The latter "asked me
to be 'careful' and not to confuse my role as a diplomat with that of an
activist." Another official "was told that his overt opposition to the
president would undermine his chances to go a good post". (S.C)