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Mursi appears before court for 'insulting' judiciary in first trial session
Former Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi sits behind bars with other Muslim Brotherhood members at a court in the outskirts of Cairo December 14, 2014. REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih
CAIRO, May 23 (Aswat Masriya) - Ousted president Mohamed Mursi and 24 others accused of insulting the judiciary were tried before a criminal court in Cairo on Saturday in the first session of this trial.
"I reject this court for lack of jurisdiction," the former president said in the session, adding that he was brought to court "by force". Mursi has previously voiced similar rejection to his trials.
Defendants featuring in this trial include former Muslim Brotherhood Supreme Guide Mahdy Akef, chairman of the Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party Saad al-Katatni and Brotherhood leading figure Mohamed El-Beltagy.
The trial also includes politicians and activists who opposed Mursi's rule such as former parliamentarians Mostafa El Naggar and Amr Hamzawy, and renowned political activist Alaa Abdel Fattah.
Mursi's court appearance comes just one week after the same court referred him and 105 others to the Grand Mufti to issue his opinion on handing them the death sentence, including several top Muslim Brotherhood leaders, in a prison break trial.
The court will issue its final decision in the case on June 2, after the mufti makes a recommendation.
A referral to the mufti is a step that must be taken within Egypt's court system ahead of issuing a death sentence.
The decision was met with criticism locally and internationally, including by the United States and the United Kingdom. These reactions were denounced by Egypt, which reiterated that it rejects comments on the Egyptian judiciary.
Mursi and the 24 other defendants who were tried today were referred to criminal court in January 2014 after being accused of expressing their opinion in a manner which insulted the judiciary. All defendants are accused of doing so in separate incidents and face the same charge.
The court postponed the trial today and the next session is due on May 27. It also ordered the arrests of the six who are being tried in absentia.
Mursi, who climbed to power becoming Egypt's president in June 2012, was eventually ousted after a year of rule, at the hands of the military following mass protests against his regime.
He has since been accused of several charges and stood as defendant in a total of five trials.
A Cairo court sentenced him last month to 20 years of maximum security prison for charges of show of force and detention associated with physical torture during deadly protests in 2012.
He was also brought to court in two separate espionage cases.
