Egyptian policemen arrest a supporter of ousted president Mohamed Mursi during a protest in Ramses Square on the first day of Mursi’s trial, in Cairo, yesterday.
CAIRO: Egypt’s deposed president Mohamed Mursi appeared in court yesterday on the first day of his trial for incitement to murder, rejecting its legitimacy and demanding coup leaders be prosecuted.
In his first public appearance since the military toppled him in July, Mursi was indignant and outraged as he attended a make-shift courtroom at a police academy in east Cairo. The trial was adjourned to January 8.
“I am Dr Mohamed Mursi, the president of the republic,” a defiant Mursi told the court.
Yesterday’s hearing lasted nearly three hours and the judge heard requests from the defendants’ lawyers, who demanded to see all the case files and be allowed to meet their clients privately. Mursi, who had been kept at a secret detention since July, was then flown to Borg Al Arab prison outside Egypt’s second city of Alexandria.
Mursi and 14 co-defendants are accused of inciting violence and the murder of protesters outside the presidential palace in December, charges that could lead to the death penalty or life in prison.
The Islamist leader branded as criminal his overthrow by the army on July 3 after mass protests against his single year of turbulent rule. “This was a military coup. The leaders of the coup should be tried. A coup is treason and a crime.”
“I cannot accept for the judiciary to become a cover for the military coup,” he yelled. “I am here involuntarily, and through force.”
Mursi, wearing a dark blue suit, was brought to court by helicopter that touched down nearby and then driven to the heavily fortified police academy.
State television aired footage showing Mursi smiling as he stepped out of a white van, buttoning his blue blazer and entering the dock to applause from fellow defendants dressed in white prison uniforms.
Muslim Brotherhood co-defendants Essam Al Erian and Mohammed Al Beltagui chanted “Down with military rule” at the hearing, as Mursi, his greying beard closely trimmed, smiled and waved at his supporters packing the benches of the courtroom.
Judge Ahmed Sabry Youssef banned cameras and recording equipment from the courtroom.
Mursi’s supporters, battered by a bloody and sweeping police crackdown, accuse the army-installed government of fabricating the charges against him.
They held anti-military rallies across Cairo, including outside the police academy where dozens brandished posters of Mursi and signs bearing anti-military messages.
Thousands also protested in front of the constitutional court.
“Mursi’s trial is a farce. The criminals are trying the legitimate president,” supporter Ibrahim Abdel Samd said.
Security forces completely closed Nahda Square — site of a bloody crackdown on Mursi supporters in August — and Cairo University, while military vehicles guarded police stations.
The authorities deployed 20,000 policemen for the trial, and warned they were ready to deal with any violence.
Mursi’s trial is seen as a test for Egypt’s new authorities, who have come under fire for their heavy-handedness.
With more than 1,000 people killed since Mursi’s overthrow and thousands of Islamists arrested, hopes for a political settlement are slim in Egypt.
“Mursi’s insistence that he is still the legitimate president shows that he and most of the Muslim Brotherhood is not ready to give up their legitimacy claim,” said Shadi Hamid of the Brookings Doha Center think-tank.
“Their stand is detached from the reality, but their defiance is noteworthy and could keep supporters energised.”
Amnesty International said Mursi should be granted a fair trial, including the right to challenge evidence against him.
“Failing to do so would further call into question the motives behind his trial,” said the watchdog’s Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui.
But Hamid believes the “political” nature of the trial will drive its outcome. “There is zero chance of it being free and fair,” he said.
On the eve of the hearing, foreign ministry spokesman Badr Abdelatty said Mursi “will have rights to a free and fair trial”.
Mursi was catapulted from the underground offices of the long-banned Muslim Brotherhood to become Egypt’s first democratically elected president in June 2012. His victory was made possible by the 2011 uprising that toppled longtime autocratic president Hosni Mubarak.
But Mursi’s stint at the helm was marred by political turmoil, deadly clashes and a crippling economic crisis. Reuters
