Tahrir Square sealed amid tight security ahead of Morsi trial

CAIRO

By Hussein Qabani

Egyptian security forces blocked Cairo's Tahrir Square to traffic and reinforced their presence in and around the flashpoint square as the second session of the trial of ousted Islamist President Mohamed Morsi was set to begin Wednesday.

Army tanks were deployed and barbed wire set up at the square's entrances as riot police vehicles lined up in the streets adjacent to the square.

A security source said the square had been blocked to prevent demonstrations by Morsi supporters and "terrorist groups," in reference to the interim government's designation of the Muslim Brotherhood – from which Morsi hails – a "terrorist organization" in December.

Morsi and 14 other defendants face charges – which they insist are politically motivated – of inciting the murder of opposition protesters outside a Cairo presidential palace during clashes in December 2012.

The National Alliance for the Defense of Legitimacy, a Brotherhood-led coalition that supports Morsi, had called for mass demonstrations on Wednesday in solidarity with the ousted president, who was removed from office and subsequently imprisoned last summer by the Egyptian military.

englishnews@aa.com.tr