CAIRO
Judges on Monday recused themselves from hearing the case of 37 supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi killed in August while in police custody, judicial sources said.
According to the sources, the presiding judges had withdrawn from the case after plaintiffs' lawyers had demanded it be tried in a different court.
In mid-August, Egypt's Interior Ministry announced that at least 37 detainees – arrested for participating in pro-Morsi demonstrations – had died as a result of "gas inhalation and stampede" while attempting to escape from a police vehicle.
The ministry claimed at the time that police officers had been forced to fire teargas into the vehicle to thwart the alleged escape attempt.
However, the Muslim Brotherhood, the group from which Morsi – along with many of the slain detainees – hails, accused security forces of intentionally killing the men.
Four police officers currently face manslaughter charges in connection with the incident.
Prosecutors earlier said that investigations had revealed that police officers had displayed "negligence, recklessness and disrespect" vis-à-vis the prisoners.
The prisoners' deaths occurred four days after security forces violently dispersed two protest camps in Cairo and Giza, leaving hundreds of pro-Morsi demonstrators dead.
The National Alliance for the Defense of Legitimacy, a coalition of Islamist parties and figures that demand Morsi's reinstatement, has called for an international investigation into the incident.
Morsi supporters describe the elected leader's July 3 ouster by the army as an illegitimate military coup.
englishnews@aa.com.tr
