Cairo, Egypt - An Egyptian court will try four Muslim Brotherhood members and a Saudi on charges of money laundering to fund the banned movement, a judicial official said Wednesday.
The five would face the emergency security court after being charged with channeling money through a British-based Islamic charity to fund the movement's Egyptian activities, said the official who requested anonymity
Three suspects had been detained before being released on bail pending trial, while the remaining two, including the Saudi man identified as Aaed al-Qarni, were not in the country, the official said.
Essam Erian, a senior Brotherhood leader, said all the suspects except one were outside the country.
"This is a message from the government that it insists on using the emergency law to settle its political disputes," Erian said.
The emergency law, in place since an Islamist militant assassinated president Anwar Sadat in 1981, allows for indefinite detention and the courts set up under the law deny the right of appeal.
The money laundering charges were the latest blow against the Islamist group ahead of parliamentary elections later this year which the Brotherhood has said it will contest.
The group's deputy leader Mahmud Ezzat and Erian were freed on bail on April 8 after more than a month in prison, but still face charges of organising "terrorist cells" and plotting to overthrow the government.
The Brotherhood, Egypt's largest opposition movement, calls for an Islamic state through peaceful means.
Egypt's constitution bans parties based on religion, sect or class, but the Brotherhood controls a fifth of the seats in parliament after fielding independent candidates.