Defendant claims of torture and denial of medical treatment were heard on Wednesday at the trial of Al-Jazeera journalists accused of supporting deposed president Mohamed Morsi's outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, Agence France-Presse reported.
Three years after the Arab Spring uprising that toppled longtime dictator Hosni Mubarak, the high-profile trial is seen as a test of the military-installed government's tolerance of independent media, with activists fearing a return to autocracy.
According to AFP, the trial of the Qatar-based channel's journalists also comes against the backdrop of strained ties with Doha, which was a strong supporter of Morsi and his now-banned Brotherhood.
Out of the 20 defendants, eight of them are in custody, including well-known Australian reporter Peter Greste. The rest of them are on the run or abroad.
"They are accused of supporting the Brotherhood and broadcasting false reports, after police shut down the Cairo offices of Al-Jazeera Mubasher Misr, the network's Egyptian channel, following the military's July 3 overthrow of Morsi," AFP reported. "At Wednesday's hearing, six defendants, including Greste and Canadian-Egyptian Mohamed Fadel Fahmy, appeared in a caged dock wearing white prison uniform."
Fahmy, who was Al-Jazeera Mubasher Misr's bureau chief and was arrested along with Greste in December, told the court his right shoulder "has been broken for 10 weeks and I sleep on the floor."
"I ask you to free me on the guarantee from the Canadian embassy that I will not leave the country," he said.
Fahmy's father Fadel told AFP before the hearing that his son was innocent and had actually been among the first participants in June 30 protests against Morsi that led to his eventual downfall.
He added that prison authorities have not allowed him to get a needed operation.
During the hearing, a security official told a defense lawyer that Fahmy "works for Al-Jazeera Mubasher Misr, and I am not a media man to differentiate between the two channels, Al-Jazeera Mubasher Misr and Al Jazeera English."
"As long as he collaborates with a channel that broadcasts false news and co-operates with the Brotherhood, then he is a member of the Brotherhood."
Another defendant, Soheib Saad, said he was "tortured by state security," AFP reported.
Without elaborating, he said he faced "physical and psychological torture" and had "asked to be checked (by a doctor) but nobody answered."
Before the hearing began, defendant Baher Mohamed shouted, "Journalists are not terrorists," as a bench full of security personnel separated those on trial from lawyers and reporters, AFP reported.
Greste's brother Andrew told AFP earlier Wednesday that "Peter is obviously humbled and strengthened from the international support, and that's one of the things he thinks is keeping him safe in prison."
He said Greste was in "good physical condition" and not "physically abused."
The trial was later adjourned to March 24, AFP reported.
