World Bulletin/News Desk

An Egyptian judicial panel has referred 60 judges to a disciplinary council for signing a statement last year in which they voiced support for the embattled Muslim Brotherhood group during a major sit-in protest in Cairo staged by backers of ousted president Mohamed Morsi, a judicial source has said.

The judges are accused of supporting a "certain political group" by signing onto a July 24, 2013 statement that was read out aloud during a sit-in staged by pro-Morsi demonstrators in eastern Cairo's Rabaa al-Adawiya Square, the source said.

The sit-in was violently dispersed by security forces on August 14 of last year, leaving hundreds of demonstrators dead and thousands injured.

The judges in question had been members of the self-styled "Judges for Egypt" group, which was formed following the 2011 popular uprising that led to the ouster of autocratic president Hosni Mubarak.

The 60 judges include Morsi-era justice minister Ahmed Mekki and former vice-president Mahmoud Mekki.

Since Morsi's ouster by the military almost 16 months ago, the Egyptian authorities have launched a wide-ranging crackdown on political dissent, targeting members and supporters of Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood group in particular.