Egypt court dismisses charges against former VP News
Egypt court dismisses charges against former VP
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[JURIST] An Egyptian court on Saturday threw out charges against former vice president Mohamed ElBaradei [Al Jazeera profile]. ElBaradei, who served as vice president in the government set up by the military, stepped down in protest of the violence directed at protesters. It was this abandonment of his post that gave rise to the charges of “betrayal of trust.” The violence was in response to sit-ins calling for the reinstatement of Mohammed Morsi [BBC profile; JURIST news archive]. ElBaradei, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005, has also served on the UN nuclear agency and was the co-leader of the secular National Salvation Front (NSF).

Controversy continues to surround the transition following the Egyptian Revolution [JURIST backgrounder]. Last week an Amnesty International (AI) [advocacy website] report showed Egyptian security forces used live ammunition [JURIST report] to disperse protesters. Earlier this month an Egyptian court set the trial date [JURIST report] for the Morsi for November 4. Along with Morsi, 14 other leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood [BBC backgrounder; JURIST news archive], including Essam el-Erian and Mohammed el-Beltagy, will be tried [AP report] on the same day. Earlier this month the Muslim Brotherhood filed a lawsuit appealing a court verdict [JURIST reports] ordering the interim government to seize the group’s assets.