A senior legal source of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt said: "The Prison Service has issued a permit for the family of the Brotherhood Chairman Mohamed Badie to visit him in Tora Prison, south of Cairo, on Sunday morning, to make sure he is in good health.

"We asked for Badie (70) to be quickly transferred to a hospital for treatment, since he suffers from several chronic diseases, and his incarceration, especially with unconstitutionally poor and inhumane prison conditions, will certainly put his life at risk."

Meanwhile, the putschists’ security forces arrested MP Sobhi Saleh, the head of Egypt’s Upper House (Shura Council)'s Legislative Committee and a leading member of the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), in a raid on a villa in Alexandria.

Earlier, police and state security forces raided Sobhi Saleh’s house, but did not find him there. They smashed up the contents of his home.