Contentious prosecutor to investigate Brotherhood

Mr Mahmoud last week defied President Mohammed Morsi's bid to unseat him.

And now he has asked Interior Ministry and intelligence officials to get evidence against Islamists who clashed with secular protesters on Friday.

President Morsi's supporters rallied in Tahrir Square against Mr Mahmoud's decision to clear 24 supporters of ousted dictator Hosni Mubarak.

But they came to blows with people protesting against the religious domination of the group writing a new constitution.

Mr Mahmoud says he is acting on complaints from women who accuse senior Muslim Brotherhood officials of inciting people to attack the secular protest.

Mohammed el-Betagly, one of the accused, said on Facebook he was happy to be questioned but urged Mr Mahmoud to "act equally fast" on complaints against Mubarak-era officials.

The Muslim Brotherhood said the clashes were sparked by "thugs" attempting to discredit it and called the legal probe "malicious."

The brotherhood and human rights lawyers argue that the judiciary is still stacked with Mubarak henchmen, meaning justice has not been done for the 800-plus victims of the former leader's crackdown on the revolt that toppled him.