Morsi absence halts Cairo trial

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 08 Januari 2014 | 18.19

8 January 2014 Last updated at 05:28 ET

The trial of Egypt's ousted President Mohammed Morsi has been adjourned after officials said bad weather had stopped his helicopter from taking off.

Other defendants arrived at the police compound by helicopter but Mr Morsi was still said to be in Alexandria.

One of them shouted in court that the trial was unconstitutional.

Mr Morsi and 14 other Muslim Brotherhood figures are accused of inciting the killing of protesters outside a presidential palace in 2012.

He was removed by the army last July after demonstrations against his rule.

His supporters have since held regular protests calling for his reinstatement.

A helicopter carrying some of the defendants arrived at the National Police Academy complex in Cairo for the hearing early on Wednesday, correspondents said.

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State media had initially said Mr Morsi was also there; however, state news agency Mena later said his arrival had been delayed by bad weather.

The court session began at about 11:15 (09:15 GMT) but was immediately adjourned until 1 February, a decision that the presiding judge put down to weather conditions, the BBC's Orla Guerin reports.

Outside the court the sun was shining and the forecast for Alexandria was little different.

The deputy leader of the Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party, Essam al-Erian, shouted from the cage in which the defendants were being held that he did not recognise the trial's legitimacy and they had been brought to court against their will in the early hours of the morning.

Mr Morsi would refuse to attend the trial as his position was the same, Mr Erian said.

Security outside the Cairo police compound was very heavy with three cordons in place.

Egyptian media said thousands of police were on alert and TV pictures showed some pro-Morsi protesters being arrested as they waved the four-finger salute adopted by supporters of the ousted president.

A Brotherhood-led protest march was due to take place to coincide with the latest hearing. Tear gas and live fire were used to disperse demonstrators in the Nasr City area of Cairo, witnesses told the BBC.

When Mr Morsi does return to court, he will be asked to appoint a lawyer, which he refused to do during his initial appearance.

He also faces several other charges ranging from fraud to colluding with foreign militants in a terrorist plot.

He faces another court hearing at the end of January, accused with some 130 others of murdering policemen during a mass breakout from a Cairo prison in January 2011 shortly before the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak.

Human rights groups have dismissed some of the allegations against him as preposterous.

Egyptian officials insist Mr Morsi will be given a fair trial but lawyers trying to defend him say they have been denied access to him.

He first appeared in court in early November amid chaotic scenes.

Speaking from behind bars, he insisted he was still the president and was being held against his will.

He refused to acknowledge the legitimacy of the court and would not wear a prison uniform.

Some Egyptian journalists responded with calls for his execution.

Although Mr Morsi won the presidency in a democratic election, he fell out with key institutions during his 13 months in power.

The interim government has since cracked down on the Muslim Brotherhood, classifying it as a terrorist organisation and arresting thousands of members. At least one thousand people have been killed in clashes with security forces.

At least 11 people were killed in violence across Egypt last Friday.

Mr Morsi's supporters say he and other senior Brotherhood leaders are the victims of politically motivated prosecutions.

The same court is being used for the retrial of Mr Mubarak, whose life sentence for involvement in the deaths of protesters has been overturned by an appeal court.

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