Egyptian court orders retrial of Muslim Brotherhood leader

An Egyptian court has ordered a retrial of the Muslim Brotherhood's leader Mohamed Badie and other senior figures from the banned group starting on 7 October, judicial sources and the state news agency MENA have said.

Badie has been handed multiple death sentences and life prison terms in a series of trials since Egypt's military ousted the democratically elected President Mohamed Morsi, also of the Brotherhood, in a coup in July 2013.

According to MENA, the retrial relates to a case in which Badie and 14 others were handed life sentences for incitement to commit murder and attempted murder of anti-Muslim Brotherhood demonstrators near the group's headquarters in June 2013.

Four others were sentenced to death in the February 2015 ruling.

The new charges for senior figures include "participating in the incitement and assistance in beating of protesters," while two other defendants were charged with causing deaths or disfigurement and possession of weapons, MENA reported.

It did not explain why the charges were modified but according to Egyptian law charges can be altered if new evidence arises, the Reuters news agency reported.

The retrial ordered by the Cairo criminal court affects only those in custody and not those defendants who were tried in absentia.

Khairat al-Shater, another senior Brotherhood figure is also among those to be retried, according to the state news agency.