Morsi trial delayed to Feb 1 after court absence
CAIRO - Agence France-Presse
Mohamed Morsi was toppled by the military on July 3. AP Photo
An Egyptian court adjourned Jan. 8 the murder trial of Mohamed Morsi to February 1, citing "weather conditions" that prevented the toppled president's transport to court from his prison.It had been scheduled as the second hearing in Morsi's trial, after an initial court appearance in November in which he denounced the tribunal and insisted he was still the country's president.
Morsi, who was toppled by the military in July, is accused of inciting the killings of opposition protesters in December 2012 outside the presidential palace.,
"Because of the weather conditions, Mohamed Morsi could not be brought, so the trial will be adjourned to February 1," said presiding judge Ahmed Sabry Youssef.
Morsi is detained in prison some 60 kilometres from the Mediterranean city of Alexandria.
He is on trial with 14 co-defendants, but only several were brought Wednesday to the makeshift court house in a police academy on Cairo's outskirts.
Tear gas on Morsi supporters
Elsewhere, police fired tear gas at Morsi's supporters who had rallied in protest at the trial. In Cairo's Nasr City neighbourhood, tyres were burnt and some car windows were smashed during brief clashes. Police said they had made 14 arrests. In the police academy, defendants were held in a room adjacent to the court room as they waited for the hearing to start.
"This is a political trial," yelled Essam al-Erian, one of the defendants and a senior member of Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood movement.
His lawyer Bahaa el-Din Abdel Rahman told AFP his client and other defendants had embarked on a hunger strike.
"All the accused who are present today are on hunger strike and reaffirm that they reject this trial," he said.
Morsi will also face separate trials on charges of espionage and colluding with militants to carry out attacks in Egypt.