ISTANBUL
Dozens of Egyptians living in Istanbul protested a trial that Egypt’s ousted leader Mohamed Morsi appeared on Monday in Cairo.
Protestors gathered outside Egypt’s Consulate General in Istanbul and chanted slogans against General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, labeling him as “killer”, while they praised President Morsi and his stance against the court. Protesters waved Egyptian flag and raised placards showing the Rabia’s sign, the four-finger salute commemorating the hundreds of pro-democracy protesters killed and injured when security forces violently dispersed the Rabaa sit-in on August 14 this year.
The Muslim Brotherhood’s senior leader Esref Abdulgaffar said during the protest that the regime that killed hundreds of people was not tried while President Morsi was put on trial. “Democracy and justice are tried today,” he said angrily.
Rabia Platform spokesperson and a leading Turkish thinker Abdurrahman Dilipak praised Morsi’s stance against the court on Monday by saying that, “We congratulate Morsi. He stood against this.” Dilipak added that what the court had done was nothing but “shame.”
Dozens of Turkish security forces took necessary security precautions outside the Consulate General.
Apart from the protest outside the Consulate General, three other gatherings were held in Istanbul on Monday to protest the trial in Cairo.
Mohamed Morsi faces charges – which supporters insist are politically motivated – of inciting the killing of demonstrators outside Cairo's Ittihadiya presidential palace late last year. The trial is adjourned to January 8.
Mohamed Morsi, Egypt's first freely elected leader, was ousted by the military establishment on July 3 after only one year in office following large demonstrations against his presidency.
