Egypt’s ex-President Mohammed Morsi and several secular figures went on trial on Saturday for “insulting the judiciary”, a week after the deposed leader was sentenced to death by a court here in connection with a mass jail break in 2011.
The court, however, adjourned the first session of the trial of the 63-year-old ex-president and 24 others, including even some supporters of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, to July 27 for “insulting the judiciary” in comments made in the 2012 parliament, speeches, on social media or in interviews.
The latest trial is the fifth for Morsi, who was sentenced to death last week along with Muslim Brotherhood chief Mohammed Badie and over 100 other members of the banned group for a mass prison break during the 2011 revolution which toppled former president Hosni Mubarak.
All forms of opposition were today brought together for the first time, with Morsi and other Islamist opponents of Sisi besides several liberal and secular opposition leaders back in the dock, in what can be seen as a crackdown on all forms of dissent.
The court also ordered the arrest of six defendants who were not attending Saturday’s session.