Trial of Muslim Brotherhood leaders to begin today

The trial of top leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood, from which ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi hails, will begin on Sunday, media reported.

The Muslim Brotherhood's general guide Mohamed Badie, who was arrested on Tuesday, would appear at criminal court on Sunday, Xinhua reported citing some media reports.

"Badie, along with his two deputies, Khairat al-Shater and Mohamed Saad al-Katatni, will appear before court today, they face criminal charges including inciting violence and killing anti-Morsi protesters outside the Muslim Brotherhood's guidance bureau," a statement from the prosecutor's office said.

Badie's detention was renewed for another 15 days pending investigations over new charges of killing and torturing opponents of Morsi at two major protest sites where the Islamists had rallied.

Since the military's dispersal of the two pro-Morsi sit-ins in Cairo and Giza Aug 14, nearly 1,000 people, including some 100 policemen, have been killed in the ensuing clashes between Morsi's loyalists and the security forces.