[JURIST] Egyptian authorities on Saturday ordered deposed president Mohamed Morsi [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] to jail for four days pending investigations regarding Morsi’s alleged insult to judicial authority. Morsi is charged with insulting the judiciary [Xinhua report] after he accused 22 judges of fraud during the 2005 parliamentary elections in a televised interview. Morsi is currently in detention, and this most recent sentence will be added to his current jail term. He recently had his 15 day sentence extended [JURIST report] to allow authorities to investigate claims that he conspired with Palestinian militants in 2011 during Egypt’s uprising. Morsi has also been accused of interfering with his prosecution and attempting to influence the judiciary over the trial of the rival presidential candidate Ahmed Shafiq.

Although Egypt has faced unrest since the Egyptian Revolution [JURIST backgrounder] began over two years ago, the conflict peaked in July after the Egyptian military deposed [JURIST report] Mohamed Morsi, suspended the nation’s constitution and installed an interim government. Last month the Egyptian prime minister proposed formally dissolving [JURIST report] the non-governmental organization registration of the Muslim Brotherhood in an effort to force the group underground. In July The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) [official website] urged Egyptian authorities [JURIST report] to address the escalating violence that followed Morsi’s ousting. Only one day after Morsi’s ouster, Egyptian authorities shut down four Islamist-run television stations [JURIST report], causing concern among groups such as Amnesty International (AI) [advocacy website]. The Chairman of the Supreme Constitutional Court of Egypt, Adly Mansour, took the oath [JURIST report] to become the interim head of state on the same day that Morsi was deposed. According to the OHCHR more than 80 people have been killed and over 1000 injured since political turmoil gripped the nation.