Toppled Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi's detention was ordered by a court today on charges of colluding with Palestinian militant group Hamas, even as rival rallies led to clashes and heightened tensions between supporters and opponents of the Islamist leader.
Morsi, already under detention by the army after he was deposed on July 3, will be quizzed on whether he collaborated with Hamas in attacks on police stations and prison breaks in early 2011 during the revolt against former president Hosni Mubarak, state-run MENA news agency reported.
This is the first official word on 61-year-old Morsi's status after his ouster by the army.
The judicial detention was initially ordered for 15 days.
The alleged crimes are being investigated by a Cairo court that is tasked to determine how inmates broke out of a prison late January 2011, after accusations that Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood sought the help of Hamas.
Many Islamist leaders, including Morsi escaped from the prison in 2011.
Meanwhile, rival rallies by supporters of Morsi and the military-backed protesters took place raising fears of violence in the deeply polarised nation.
Army chief Gen Abdel Fattah al-Sisi had called on people to take to the streets today to give the military a mandate to confront violence and "terrorism".
Supporters of Morsi had also planned protests in retaliation.
Thousands of protesters flocked to Tahrir Square earlier today following the call for demonstrations by Egypt's military leaders.
Thousands of supporters of ousted president Morsi also took to the streets against what they regard as a military coup. Both camps had already massed in force in Cairo and across Egypt even before the protests planned gathering time.
Clashes took place between the two opposing camps but there were no reports of casualties so far.
The international community has called on the Egyptian government to legalise the position of the former president.
UN chief Ban Ki-moon has said Egyptian authorities should free ousted leader Morsi and other members of the Muslim Brotherhood or "have their cases reviewed transparently without delay."
Leading Brotherhood member Essam El-Erian said that the decision to detain Morsi showed the true "fascist military regime" currently in Egypt.
