Egypt changes venue for trial of ousted president
Source: AP-Excite
By MAGGIE MICHAEL
CAIRO (AP) - Egyptian authorities on Sunday moved the trial of the ousted Islamist president to a new location at another end of the capital, a move apparently aimed at thwarting mass rallies planned by the Muslim Brotherhood in his support when it opens on Monday.
Facing charges of incitement of violence with 14 others in connection to clashes last December, Mohammed Morsi has been held at an undisclosed location since his July 3 overthrow by the military. The trial will be his first public appearance since then, possibly enflaming an already tense political atmosphere as animosity between Morsi's Islamist supporters and Egypt's security establishment steadily deepens.
"For (the Islamists) it will be like taking revenge on the police and the military," said lawyer Khaled Abu-Bakr, representing three victims of the December clashes. "I really hope that no blood is spilled tomorrow," he added.
The change of the venue was announced at a tumultuous news conference by appeals court judge Medhat Idris, who threw his statement in the air and stormed out of the room when Morsi supporters shouted in protest at the change.
FULL story at link.
Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20131103/DA9RBK981.html
Supporter of Egypt's ousted President Mohammed Morsi march during a protest a day before the trial of the former president taking place at a police academy in an eastern Cairo district, in Egypt, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2013. Morsi has been held in undisclosed destination since his ouster on July 3. He stands accused of incitement to murder. Arabic on the poster at left reads, "bring back the soldiers to the front lines." (AP Photo/Eman Helal)
Eugene
(61,894 posts)Source: The Guardian
Patrick Kingsley in Cairo
theguardian.com, Monday 4 November 2013 14.21 GMT
Egypt's former president Mohamed Morsi claimed he remains Egypt's only legitimate leader as he stood trial on Monday, in his first public appearance since being deposed four months ago.
His presence sparked chaos in the courtroom, with Morsi's 14 co-defendants chanting against the army who ousted him, local journalists shouting for his execution and scuffles breaking out between rival lawyers. Amid the melee, Morsi and his colleagues rejected the authority of the court before the bedlam forced the presiding judge to adjourn proceedings until 8 January.
"What is happening now is a military coup," boomed Morsi after arriving in the defendants' cage his first words in public since 2 July, when he gave a rambling televised speech the night before he was deposed by the army, following days of mass protests in which millions had called for the military to intervene.
"I am furious that the Egyptian judiciary should serve as cover for this criminal military coup," he continued.
[font size=1]-snip-[/font]
Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/04/mohamed-morsi-egypt-trial-chaos-muslim-brotherhood
Comrade Grumpy
(13,184 posts)He said the people that deposed him should be the ones on trial.
Good luck with your kangaroo court, coupsters.