CAIRO
By Mohamed Ahmed
Ousted president Mohamed Morsi's defense team will try to convince him to accept being legally represented by ex-presidential contender and renowned lawyer Mohamed Selim al-Awa, instead of a lawyer assigned by the court.
"We will try to convince Morsi to accept al-Awa or someone else as his lawyer. Otherwise, the court will pick up a lawyer for him," said Mohamed al-Damati, the spokesman of Morsi's defense team.
He confirmed they were finalizing procedures to meet the deposed president in his detention in Alexandria's Borg al-Arab prison.
Morsi and seven other defendants appeared in court on Monday to answer charges that he had incited the murder of demonstrators last year.
The court session was Morsi's first public appearance since his ouster by the powerful military more than four months ago.
Trial proceedings were postponed by almost two months after defense lawyers requested more time to examine documentation related to the case.
Morsi has refused to recognize the trial's legitimacy or hire a lawyer. He told the presiding judge that he still represented "Egypt's legitimate president."
Morsi, Egypt's first freely-elected civilian leader, was ousted by the country's military establishment on July 3 following protests against his presidency.
The court proceedings are slated to resume on January 8.
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