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Mohamed Morsi

CAIRO — Egypt’s state prosecutor is investigating allegations that ousted Islamist President Mohammed Morsi leaked secret documents to Qatar via the Doha-based Al-Jazeera broadcaster, according to judicial officials.If the charges are referred to court, it would be the fourth case underway against Morsi, who was overthrown by the military amid mass protests against his year-long rule.

Morsi and other individuals are accused of passing state security files to Qatar, a close ally of his Muslim Brotherhood group, through Al-Jazeera “in a way that harms national security,” the officials said, on condition of anonymity because they are not authorised to talk to reporters.

The toppled and jailed president already faces charges of conspiring with foreign groups, inciting the murder of his opponents and orchestrating prison breaks during the 2011 uprising that toppled his predecessor, Hosni Mubarak.

Authorities claim to have uncovered a network of top Egyptian officials affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, Al-Jazeera employees and high-ranking Qatari officials who leaked the information and tried to smuggle the original documents. Officials said the network intended to sell the original documents to Qatar for $1.5 million.

In March, Egypt’s Interior Minister Mohammed Ibrahim accused a presidential secretary, Amin el-Serafi, of leaking documents from the  presidential palace and sending copies through Brotherhood members to an Arab country that supports the group, a veiled reference to Qatar. He said the suspects aimed to disclose military secrets in order to destabilise Egypt.

He said that after el-Serafi’s arrest, a Palestinian national met with a senior editor for Al-Jazeera, who arranged a meeting with top officials in the Arab country, while a flight attendant belonging to the Brotherhood attempted to transfer the original files outside Egypt. — AP.