CAIRO
An Egyptian court on Tuesday resumed the trial of ousted president Mohamed Morsi and 35 co-defendants charged with espionage.
Morsi and 21 co-defendants are attending Tuesday's court session, a judicial source told Anadolu Agency, while the rest are being tried in absentia.
Tuesday's session is expected to see the members of technical committees – tasked with coordinating evidence for the prosecution – taking their oath.
During last Wednesday's court session, Morsi reiterated that his overthrow by the army last summer constituted a "military coup," telling judges that the "coup" that unseated him was destined to failure.
"I assure the Egyptian people that the coup will eventually fail and its leaders held to account," Morsi told the presiding judge from a soundproof glass cage.
Trial proceedings were temporarily suspended earlier this year to consider requests by defense lawyers for the recusal of the presiding judges.
On March 9, however, the court turned down the request.
Trial defendants face charges of "conspiring" with Palestinian group Hamas and Lebanon's Hezbollah to carry out "terrorist acts" inside Egypt.
Morsi and his co-defendants emphatically deny the charges against them, which they describe as politically driven.
By Hazem Badr
englishnews@aa.com.tr
