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Mohammed Morsi back in Cairo court today to face charges over jailbreak Who are you? Mohammed Morsi takes on judge in Cairo court as he faces charges over jailbreak
(about 7 hours later)
Ousted Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi has appeared in a Cairo court for a trial over prison breaks in 2011, Egypt’s state news agency has reported. Egypt’s toppled President Mohammed Morsi stood alone in a soundproof glass-encased metal cage at the start of a new trial wearing a white prison uniform, pacing and shouting angrily at the judge in apparent disbelief: “Who are you? Tell me!”
The MENA report on Tuesday said Mr Morsi flew by helicopter from Borg al-Arab prison in Alexandria, while 130 others were driven to Cairo. Morsi is on trial with 130 others, including Muslim Brotherhood leaders, and militants from the Palestinian Hamas group and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, over charges related to prison breaks at the height of the 18-day 2011 uprising against his predecessor Hosni Mubarak.  After five hours, the trial was adjourned until 22 February.
Morsi stood inside a glass-encased metal cage today, separated from other defendants, dressed in a white jump suit. He remained defiant and shouted at the judge: "I am the president of the republic, how can I be kept in a dump for weeks?" The trial coincided with the third anniversary of one of the most violent days of the revolution that plunged the country into prolonged turmoil, and that eventually led to the virtual collapse of the police and their withdrawal from the streets.
Later he shouted again that he was the legitimate president, asking the judge "who are you?" Morsi supporters clashed with police in central Cairo. In two separate attacks, gunmen also killed an aide to the country’s interior minister in a drive-by shooting outside Cairo and a policeman guarding a church in a southern section of the capital.
The case is rooted in the 2011 jailbreak of more than 20,000 inmates from Egyptian prisons, including Mr Morsi, during the uprising that toppled his predecessor Hosni Mubarak. Also charged are members of the Palestinian militant group Hamas and the Lebanese group Hezbollah. Security forces also deployed heavily and erected checkpoints in the city as they braced for more violent protests by Morsi supporters.
It is Mr Morsi's second court appearance since he was deposed during Egypt's widely supported July 3 military coup. He missed a hearing on 8 January in another trial after security officials said bad weather grounded the helicopter which was supposed to be used to transport him. The former Islamist president, ousted in a popularly-backed coup last July, also declared to the judges during an unaired part of the hearing that he remains Egypt’s legitimate leader, a state television reporter inside the courtroom said. In aired edited TV footage, defendants chanted that their trial was “invalid.” Earlier, they turned their back to the court to protest at their prosecution.
In two other cases, Mr Morsi and other Muslim Brotherhood members are charged with conspiring with militant groups and inciting the killing of protesters outside a Cairo presidential palace in December 2012. All three charges carry the death penalty. A lawyer has said the trial appears aimed at “denigrating” Mr Morsi and his Brotherhood group. In the footage shown on state television, Morsi protested at being in a cageand then raised his hands in the air and angrily  yelled in apparent disbelief: “Do you know where I am?”
His court appearance will be televised on domestic television. The trial comes as the Egyptian army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi looks set to become the next President in the forthcoming presidential elections, after a group of his leading generals reportedly backed his bid for the job. Judge Shabaan el-Shami responded: “I am the head of Egypt’s criminal court!”
Additional reporting by agencies In pictures: Hundreds arrested as Muslim Brotherhood supporters clash with police in Cairo A promised live broadcast from the court was cut, and a senior state television official told local media that security forces had demanded this.
Authorities claim the jailbreaks in the charges were part of an organised effort to destabilise the country. Rights groups have called for an independent investigation into them, and claim the police were responsible.
AP
In pictures: Hundreds arrested as Muslim Brotherhood supporters clash with police in Cairo