Egypt's ousted President Mohammed Morsi's trial was adjourned until Jan. 8 due to various interruptions by protesters and Morsi's refusal to be tried, the Associated Press reported.
Morsi, who has been detained for four months along with his 14 co-defendants and claims to be the rightful leader of the country, refused to be put on trial on Monday and said those who overthrew him should take his place, according to the AP. The trial was held in a makeshift courtroom at a police academy in Eastern Cairo.
The charges being brought against Morsi and the Brotherhood members include inciting the killing of protesters outside the presidential palace in December and an attack on sit-in protesters by the Brotherhood members that left 10 people dead, the AP reported.
Morsi, Egypt's first freely-elected president, arrived in a minibus and was the only one of the defendants who did not wear prison uniform in court. He wore a dark blue suit with no tie and looked healthy, according to the AP.
A clip showed on state TV from inside the courtroom depicts Morsi's co-defendants standing in their jail uniforms in two lines applauding him as he entered the courtroom, the AP reported. The co-defendants, with their backs to the court, then raised their hands in the Muslim Brotherhood gesture, a sign commemorating the hundreds killed during various pro-Morsi sit-ins in August.
The trial was interrupted twice on its first day by shouting and chanting inside the courtroom and scheduled for a future date so lawyers can review the case against Morsi and the 14 prominent members of the Muslim Brotherhood who face trial alongside the ousted president, the AP reported.
Morsi has been held at an unknown location since the military removed him from presidency on July 3. According to the AP, the trial is the byproduct of pressure from human rights groups on the current military government led by Gen. Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.
The dispute on the trial's legitimacy delayed the start of the session by two hours, officials told the AP anonymously because they are not allowed to speak to the media.
According to security officials, Morsi refused to wear the prison uniform the judge ordered as part of his rejecting the trial's legitimacy, the AP reported. The court also announced on Monday that it will allow defense lawyers to have access to their clients in jail.
Many Morsi supporters believe the trial is related to events stemming from the military coup, but according to the AP, the case against Morsi and the co-defendants is based on complaints filed against them by rights activist during the December riots.
"This case (of violence) is a turning point and the beginning of the downfall of Morsi," said Ragia Omran, a civil lawyer representing two of the victims, the AP reported.
When Morsi's name was called out by Judge Ahmed Sabry Youssef, Morsi replied: "I am Mohammed Morsi, the president of the republic," the AP reported.
Morsi has refused to enter a plea, and after demanding a microphone said: "This is not my court. This court, with all due respect, doesn't have jurisdiction over the president. There is a military coup in this country. The leaders of this coup must be brought to trial according to the constitution," the AP reported.
The current military-led government ousted Morsi after millions of Egyptians marched the streets demanding his removal, but Morsi supporters accuse the military of crushing Egypt's new democracy by doing so, the AP reported.
Since the trial is taking place during an extreme crackdown by the military government, rights advocates are concerned about the trial's fairness, according to the AP. Many of Morsi' adversaries are part of the judicial system, many of which he clashed with during his time in office.
After the adjournment of the trial, Morsi was taken to a prison in the desert near the Mediterranean city of Alexandria named Bourg el-Arab while his co-defendants are being held in a prison near Cairo, according to the AP.
