CAIRO
An Egyptian court on Sunday adjourned until April 12 the trial of ousted president Mohamed Morsi and others on charges of inciting the killing of demonstrators outside the presidential palace in Cairo in late 2012, a judicial source said.
He said the court postponed the trial in order to continue hearing the accounts of witnesses and decided to give defense lawyers the chance to meet the defendants.
The source added that a media blackout imposed on the case earlier on the day would continue to be in effect in the upcoming sessions over "national security considerations."
During the Sunday session, the judges heard the accounts of five republican guards, the source said.
Morsi and his 14 co-defendants – seven of whom are being tried in absentia – are charged with inciting the murder of opposition demonstrators during the clashes between pro- and anti-Morsi protesters.
While a total of 11 people – including eight Morsi supporters – were killed in the violence, the trial only addresses the death of one reporter and two anti-Morsi protesters.
The trial resumed after an Egyptian court last month turned down a request for the recusal of the presiding judges in the case.
Morsi, Egypt's first democratically elected leader, was ousted by the military last July – after only one year in office – following protests against presidency.
He currently faces four different trials for multiple charges, including espionage, jailbreak and "offending the judiciary."
Morsi, along with all of his co-defendants, insists that the charges against him are politically motivated.
By Sayed Fathi
englishnews@aa.com.tr
