Brotherhood official criticises Egypt army

A leading member of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt has claimed that the army has no role in politics. Essam el-Erian told his Facebook followers that the the military was trying to unite itself with the people, when its sole role should be to protect the state's borders and nothing more. He described the July 3 ouster of Islamist president Mohammed Morsi as "violence and terrorism" against those who voted for the Brotherhood regime. "The military coup is the highest level of violence and terrorism to millions of Egyptians who voted in free elections, in addition to the preference of parties and bias against others," he wrote. Erian also rejected the detention order against Morsi and several senior Brotherhood officials, saying that Morsi continues to enjoy immunity as the nation's "legitimate" president, and he can stand trial only as part of a constitutional process that allows that. The detention order "lays bare the fascist nature of military rule ... our response will be with millions in peaceful rallies in the squares," he concluded.