(AFP PHOTO / MAHMOUD KHALED)
Cairo Criminal Court ordered on Saturday the postponement of the trial of former president Mohamed Morsi over the 2012 presidential palace clashes to 4 February, following its third session, in order to allow the court time to review videos provided by the prosecution.
Morsi and 14 other Muslim Brotherhood leaders are facing charges of inciting violence for clashes that occurred by the presidential palace in December 2012.
The second trial session of was postponed to 1 February after Morsi failed to appear in court due to bad weather conditions that prevented his transport from Borg Al-Arab Prison to the location of the court in Cairo.
The court is being held inside the Police Academy in the Fifth Settlement for security reasons. Outside the academy, supporters of Field Marshal Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi gathered with signs supporting Al-Sisi and calling him next president.
According to AFP, a group of Al-Sisi supporters tried to prevent Morsi’s defence team from entering the academy where the trial was being held, but security forces were able to control the situation and allowed Al-Awa inside.
In contrast, the supporters of the ousted president did not appear bv the court for this trial session, nor for the espionage case that took place on 28 January.
Deadly street battles took place outside the presidential palace of Itihadiyah in Heliopolis on 5 December 2012, resulting in the death of five protesters including journalist El-Husseiny Abo El-Deif, and more than 700 injured.
Clashes erupted following the crackdown led by members of the Muslim Brotherhood and supporters of then-president Morsi on a sit-in organised by his opposition after Morsi had issued a constitutional declaration that granted him sweeping powers.
Morsi was kept in an undisclosed location after being ousted by the military on 3 July following massive protests on 30 June. Morsi is facing four separate trials for the charges of: his prison break on 28 January 2011, insulting the judiciary, the December 2012 presidential palace clashes, and espionage with Hamas and Hezbollah.
