CAIRO
A spokesman of a defense team in the trial of ousted president Mohamed Morsi on incitement-to-murder charges has called for an investigation into alleged tapping of a dialogue between the deposed leader and his lawyer.
"An immediate investigation must be opened into the tapping of the conversation," Mohamed al-Damati told Anadolu Agency on Saturday.
"Eavesdropping is subject to the Egyptian Criminal Code as long as there is not permission from the prosecution," he said.
The Arabic language daily al-Watan has published an audio of a conversation between Morsi and veteran lawyer Mohamed Selim al-Awa ahead of a trial session of the ousted president and 14 other defendants on charges of inciting the killing of opposition demonstrators outside the Ittihadiya presidential palace in late 2012.
In the three-minute recording, Morsi allegedly tells al-Awa that he already told the trial judge that al-Awa will defend him in the case.
AA could not independently verify the authenticity of the recording.
Egyptian officials could not be reached for comment on the allegation.
Al-Damati, a lawyer, said Morsi had asked al-Awa to challenge the court jurisdiction to try him.
The court had adjourned the trial until March 1.
By Hussein Qabani
englishnews@aa.com.tr
