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| Deposed Egyptian President Morsi Goes on Trial | Deposed Egyptian President Morsi Goes on Trial |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| CAIRO — As Egypt’s new military-led government consolidates its power, Mohamed Morsi, the deposed president, went on trial on Monday, facing charges of inciting the murder of protesters, but he rejected the court’s authority and proclaimed himself to be the country’s legitimate ruler. | |
| The trial got off to a late start and the case was soon adjourned until Jan. 8. | |
| The trial’s brief opening was Mr. Morsi’s first public appearance since his removal from office on July 3, and, in a dizzying turn for Egypt, the second criminal trial of a former head of state in less than three years. Former President Hosni Mubarak, ousted in February 2011 and now under house arrest in a military hospital, is facing a retrial at the same venue, the auditorium of a police academy. | |
| According to the website of Al Ahram, Egypt’s flagship state newspaper, the trial got under way as Mr. Morsi and 14 other Islamist defendants appeared in a caged dock and court officials called out their names. But news reports saidthe hearing was first delayed and then suspended after Mr. Morsi refused to dress in prison clothing and chanting by his co-defendants drowned out the proceedings. | |
| Journalists who were allowed into the courtroom were not permitted to bring telephones or other communications devices, limiting the flow of information. But witnesses in the courtroom said that Mr. Morsi declared: “This trial is illegitimate,” and said he was still Egypt’s lawful president. | |
| Mr. Morsi’s Islamist allies in the Muslim Brotherhood had called for major protests against the trial, and the Interior Ministry said it had deployed thousands of riot police officers to secure the streets. Shortly before 11 a.m., as the trial began, the streets remained quiet, but the number of demonstrators began to grow from only a few dozen to perhaps 100 in two locations outside the court. | Mr. Morsi’s Islamist allies in the Muslim Brotherhood had called for major protests against the trial, and the Interior Ministry said it had deployed thousands of riot police officers to secure the streets. Shortly before 11 a.m., as the trial began, the streets remained quiet, but the number of demonstrators began to grow from only a few dozen to perhaps 100 in two locations outside the court. |
| Pro-Morsi demonstrators gathered in larger numbers at the Supreme Constitutional Court in the Maadi district of southern Cairo, witnesses said. | Pro-Morsi demonstrators gathered in larger numbers at the Supreme Constitutional Court in the Maadi district of southern Cairo, witnesses said. |
| For the new government installed by Gen. Abdul-Fattah el-Sisi, the trial will be a ritual demonstration of its repeated assurances that there will be no turning back from the overthrow of Mr. Morsi or from the cancellation of the Islamist-drafted constitution approved in December in a national referendum. The court proceedings add formal legal legitimacy to Mr. Morsi’s incarceration, analysts said, so that it is no longer by military fiat alone. | For the new government installed by Gen. Abdul-Fattah el-Sisi, the trial will be a ritual demonstration of its repeated assurances that there will be no turning back from the overthrow of Mr. Morsi or from the cancellation of the Islamist-drafted constitution approved in December in a national referendum. The court proceedings add formal legal legitimacy to Mr. Morsi’s incarceration, analysts said, so that it is no longer by military fiat alone. |
| He is charged with inciting the murders of at least three protesters in a night of street fighting between his supporters and opponents outside the presidential palace in December. But rights advocates say the charges are selective at best. | He is charged with inciting the murders of at least three protesters in a night of street fighting between his supporters and opponents outside the presidential palace in December. But rights advocates say the charges are selective at best. |
| As increasingly aggressive protesters began encircling the palace the night before the protesters were killed — even throwing Molotov cocktails over its walls — police refused to protect it. So on Dec. 5, leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood publicly called for the president’s Islamist supporters to do the job themselves, by force if necessary. | As increasingly aggressive protesters began encircling the palace the night before the protesters were killed — even throwing Molotov cocktails over its walls — police refused to protect it. So on Dec. 5, leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood publicly called for the president’s Islamist supporters to do the job themselves, by force if necessary. |
| Hundreds of Islamists arrived that afternoon and forcibly evicted a small encampment the protesters had set up near the palace, and by nightfall thousands of Islamists were gathered to defend the site. Thousands of Mr. Morsi’s opponents attacked the Islamists and a night of deadly street fighting ensued, with rocks, Molotov cocktails and gunshots coming from both sides. | Hundreds of Islamists arrived that afternoon and forcibly evicted a small encampment the protesters had set up near the palace, and by nightfall thousands of Islamists were gathered to defend the site. Thousands of Mr. Morsi’s opponents attacked the Islamists and a night of deadly street fighting ensued, with rocks, Molotov cocktails and gunshots coming from both sides. |
| By morning, at least 11 people were dead, including at least eight supporters of the president and at least three non-Islamists, according to news reports. Prosecutors have not charged anyone over the Islamists’ deaths, and the charges against Mr. Morsi are related to the killing of three non-Islamists. | By morning, at least 11 people were dead, including at least eight supporters of the president and at least three non-Islamists, according to news reports. Prosecutors have not charged anyone over the Islamists’ deaths, and the charges against Mr. Morsi are related to the killing of three non-Islamists. |
| Mr. Morsi’s supporters committed other abuses as the night went on, informally detaining and beating a number of his opponents they had captured in the fight. In the morning, the Islamists sought to turn their detainees over to prosecutors, to charge them with assaulting the presidential palace, but the prosecutors immediately released them. Mr. Morsi may also be charged in relation to those detentions by his civilian supporters. | |
| Mr. Morsi has been held incommunicado since his ouster, without access to his lawyer. A legal team preparing to represent him has said that he has spoken at least twice with his family over the telephone. But his supporters have said that they do not recognize the authority of the court, deeming the current military-backed government illegal and illegitimate. | Mr. Morsi has been held incommunicado since his ouster, without access to his lawyer. A legal team preparing to represent him has said that he has spoken at least twice with his family over the telephone. But his supporters have said that they do not recognize the authority of the court, deeming the current military-backed government illegal and illegitimate. |
| Mr. Mubarak’s removal from office, in contrast, was given a degree of legal legitimacy when his vice president, Omar Suleiman, announced Mr. Mubarak’s resignation. Initially placed under house arrest by the military at his beach house in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, Mr. Mubarak was eventually charged with corruption as well as with directing security forces in the killing of hundreds of unarmed protesters during the 18-day uprising that ended his rule. | Mr. Mubarak’s removal from office, in contrast, was given a degree of legal legitimacy when his vice president, Omar Suleiman, announced Mr. Mubarak’s resignation. Initially placed under house arrest by the military at his beach house in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, Mr. Mubarak was eventually charged with corruption as well as with directing security forces in the killing of hundreds of unarmed protesters during the 18-day uprising that ended his rule. |
| Mr. Mubarak was allowed to consult with a legal team that included Egypt’s most prominent defense attorney. He was acquitted of the corruption charges on technical grounds and he now faces a retrial on the charges related to the protesters’ deaths. Mr. Mubarak was convicted of those charges in the final weeks of military rule before Mr. Morsi’s election, but the judge all but openly stated that he was convicting Mr. Mubarak for political reasons. | Mr. Mubarak was allowed to consult with a legal team that included Egypt’s most prominent defense attorney. He was acquitted of the corruption charges on technical grounds and he now faces a retrial on the charges related to the protesters’ deaths. Mr. Mubarak was convicted of those charges in the final weeks of military rule before Mr. Morsi’s election, but the judge all but openly stated that he was convicting Mr. Mubarak for political reasons. |
| An appellate court ordered a retrial and another judge ordered Mr. Mubarak released from prison. But the new government has kept him under house arrest in a military hospital for unspecified reasons related to public security. | An appellate court ordered a retrial and another judge ordered Mr. Mubarak released from prison. But the new government has kept him under house arrest in a military hospital for unspecified reasons related to public security. |
Alan Cowell contributed reporting from London. | Alan Cowell contributed reporting from London. |