Egypt prosecutor orders Morsi held over Hamas ties

A top Egyptian court has ordered that ousted president Mohamed Morsi be detained for questioning over suspected collaboration with Palestinian militant group Hamas, official Mena news agency reported Friday.

The Egypt Brotherhood has said the detention signals return of Mubarak regime.

Morsi will be quizzed on whether he collaborated with Hamas in attacks on police stations and prison breaks in early 2011, in which the Islamist and other political inmates escaped during the revolt against strongman Hosni Mubarak, it said.

The alleged crimes are being investigated by a Cairo court that was tasked to determine how inmates broke out of a prison late January 2011, after accusations Morsi's Islamist group sought the help of the Hamas rulers of Gaza.

The Islamist Hamas rulers of the Gaza Strip slammed Egypt the Cairo court ordered Morsi be detained.

“Hamas condemns this move since it is based on the premise that the Hamas movement is hostile,” spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said.

“This is a dangerous development, which confirms that the current powers in Egypt are giving up on national causes and even using these issues to deal with other parties – first among them the Palestinian cause.”