Ousted former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi began his second trial with 130 others consisting of Muslim Brotherhood leaders and other militants from Palestinian groups for the 2011 prison break, according to the Associated Press.
The trial was not streamed live as promised and lasted five hours before being adjourned to Feb. 22, the AP reported. Edited versions of the trial were later aired on Egyptian television.
Tuesday's trial is for the escape of more than 20,000 inmates, which included Morsi and other Brotherhood leaders, from Egyptian prisons in 2011 while the 18-day uprising against Hosni Mubarak was occurring, according to the AP.
The others also standing trial in the police academy complex in eastern Cairo were 19 other defendants. Another 111 defendants were being tried in absentia and includes members from the Palestinian militant group Hamas and Lebanon's Hezbollah, the AP reported.
Morsi was ousted last July during a backed coup by General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and told judges on Tuesday he is still Egypt's true leader, according to a state television reporter who was inside the courtroom, the AP reported.
The 20 defendants on trial in Cairo, including Morsi, said the trial was invalid and at one point turned their backs to the court in protest, according to the AP.
Morsi was not seated or near the other defendants, and was instead placed in a metal cell with glass walls away from the other defendants, the AP reported.
The glass-encased cage was used to control Morsi's common outbursts during trials, a common occurrence, the AP reported. The judge is able to muffle Morsi's yells with a controlled microphone to the cage.
Some of the other charges Morsi is currently facing in other trials hold the death penalty, but Tuesday's trial can gave a max sentence of life in prison and prosecutors have demanded the maximum penalty for all defendants, according to the AP.
"These acts were committed with the terrorist aim of terrifying the public and spreading chaos," a prosecutor said in court, according to the AP. Adding Morsi and other defendants have tried to "undermine the Egyptian state and its institutions."
The trial also marked the third anniversary of "Friday of Rage," when protesters and riot police clashed for hours before police were forced off the streets and military was sent to disperse the crowds, the AP reported.
Heavy security was present around the police academy and streets in the perimeter of the building were also covered with heavy security forces because protests were expected later on in the day, according to the AP.
