Al Jazeera is reporting that the trial of deposed Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi on charges of inciting the murder of protesters will begin on November 4. According to the report:
Mohamed Morsi
09 Oct 2013 The trial of Egypt’s deposed President Mohamed Morsi on charges of inciting the murder of protesters will start on November 4, the official MENA news agency reported.
Morsi will stand trial with 14 other defendants over the killings of protesters outside his presidential palace in December 2012, almost six months before his overthrow in a military coup.
The Cairo Appeals Court also named judge Ahmed Sabry Youssef to preside over the trial, MENA said.
Lawyer Mostafa Atteyah said a meeting of Morsi’s defence team, planned later on Wednesday, was to decide on the course of action and name the head of the team. He said so far the legal team has not seen the case’s documents.
‘This is like all the other cases. It is a fabricated one,’ Atteyah said, adding that most cases against Brotherhood members are based on weak prosecution. He said Islamist scholar and former presidential candidate Salim al-Awa is expected to lead the defence team.
The case Morsi was charged in dates back to one of the deadliest bouts of violence outside the presidential palace on December 4, protesting a decree Morsi issued to protect his decisions from judicial oversight and a highly disputed draft constitution that was hurriedly adopted by the parliament.
The next day, Morsi’s supporters attacked protesters who had camped outside the palace, sparking street battles that left at least 10 dead and bring accusations that Morsi relied on organised mobs to suppress the sit-in.
Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood, however, claimed that most of those killed were his supporters.
The report also notes that Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood leaders Essam el-Erian, currently in hiding, and and Mohamed El-Beltagy will be tried alongside Morsi.
