Ousted Egyptian President Morsi Refuses to Recognize Military Court

Muslim Brotherhood supporters of ousted President Mohamed Morsi on Aug. 2, 2013 protested in the thousands for his release and restoration to office., a photo by Pan-African News Wire File Photos on Flickr.

Morsi refuses to recognise Egypt court due to try him

Ahram Online , Tuesday 29 Oct 2013

Ousted president Mohamed Morsi will not delegate lawyers to defend him in his 4 Nov trial over incitement of murder while pro-Morsi coalition calls for mass protests on the day

Egypt's deposed president Mohamed Morsi has refused to recognise a court due to try him next week, declining to delegate lawyers to defend him over murder allegations.

Morsi is due to appear in court alongside 14 others on 4 November on charges of inciting murder and torture during deadly clashes between his supporters and opponents outside the Presidential Palace in December 2012.

"Morsi has appointed no lawyers to defend him because such a move would mean he renounces his legitimacy as the country's elected president," lawyer Mohamed El-Damaty, head of the Lawyers’ Syndicate Freedoms Committee, told Ahram Online.

Morsi, who also faces charges related to his escape from prison during the January 2011 Revolution, has been held at a secret location since his ouster by the army on 3 July following mass nationwide protests against his divisive one-year rule.

In July, a court ordered Morsi's detention for questioning over his alleged collusion with Palestinian militants in prison breaks and attacks on police stations during the revolution.

"No lawyers will be defending president Mohamed Morsi, neither Egyptians nor foreigners, because the president does not recognise the trial or any action and processes that result from the coup," AFP quoted a pro-Morsi coalition, led by the Brotherhood, as saying in a Monday statement.

The pro-Morsi group, named the National Coalition to Support Legitimacy, said a team of Egyptian lawyers would be attending the trial with Morsi, but only "to observe proceedings, not to defend him."

The coalition has called for mass demonstrations on the day of the trial, raising the prospect of a violent showdown in the deeply divided country.

Security forces have mounted a broad crackdown on Morsi's Brotherhood since his deposition, arresting most of the group’s upper echelons, including its highest authority Supreme Guide Mohamed Badie. Several thousand Islamists have also been rounded up over the past three months.

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