The handwritten document, in scrawled Arabic, ends with a thumbprint and the signature of Toronto filmmaker John Greyson.

It outlines an alarming, and wide-ranging, list of allegations — among them murder and “intention to kill” — against Greyson and London, Ont., doctor Tarek Loubani, who have been detained in a Cairo jail since Aug. 16. The pair were arrested during a week of violence that followed protests against the ouster of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi.

The authorities have not yet laid formal charges against the men, but their detention was extended on Sunday by another 45 days to allow for ongoing investigations by the Egyptian attorney general.

For the first time, the Star is publishing a detailed list of the intended charges the authorities are pursuing against them. Similar charges are also being sought for 140 Egyptians scooped up during demonstrations in the heart of Cairo that left dozens dead.

The most serious allegations against the Canadians include murder, “intention to kill,” aiding and abetting murder, and “using explosives against the Azbakiya police station” in central Cairo. At least one of those allegations — murder — carries a potential death sentence in Egypt.

Both Greyson and Loubani deny all the allegations. Lawyers say there is no credible evidence against the two men, and they should be released without charge.

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Other accusations ranged from the serious to the trivial: attacking the police station, “terrorizing citizens,” possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition, use of force and violence against police personnel, participating in a crime that resulted in a police injury, harming public security, damaging public and private property, “participating in a gathering that prevented authorities from performing their duties” and obstructing public transportation.

But rumours of potential espionage charges were unfounded, and the men’s lawyers said that no new allegations against Greyson and Loubani have been made since the list was submitted to them.

The background to the allegations is the supposition — which the two men deny — that the pair participated in illegal demonstrations by supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood, the party of Morsi.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper issued a statement Sunday saying that “in the absence of charges, (they) should be released immediately.”

In an account from prison published on Saturday, Greyson and Loubani said they had arrived in Cairo with transit visas en route to neighbouring Gaza, but could not cross the border because of the outbreak of violence. They ventured out to Ramses Square, the site of demonstrations. Loubani provided medical care to wounded protesters while Greyson captured the chaotic scene on video. The two men had teamed up for the visit to Gaza, where Loubani planned a medical teaching mission which Greyson was to film.

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The list of accusations was obtained by the Star from a handwritten transcript of potential charges outlined during the prosecution’s questioning of the men on the day after their arrest. Each page was marked by Greyson’s thumbprint and signature. Loubani was handed the same list of allegations.

Heba Morayef, Egypt director for Human Rights Watch, who has closely followed the August arrests, says that prosecutors are pursuing a grab bag of charges, and are now searching for evidence to support them.

“When or if they get to the point of formally charging them, (they) have the discretion to choose whichever charges they feel they have enough evidence to establish — so they could pick one or two, or drop all of them,” she said in an email to the Star.

Sharif Abdel Kouddous is a Cairo-based fellow of the Nation Institute.

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