Egypt’s Morsi to face trial on new charges
Deposed president Mohamed Morsi and 24 others, including media personalities, charged with insulting the judiciary.
Deposed Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi will face trial on charges of insulting the judiciary, the state news agency reports, a signal that authorities have no intention of easing a crackdown on his Muslim Brotherhood.
This is the fourth court case to face Morsi since he was ousted by the army in July after mass protests against his one-year rule.
Morsi and 24 other politicians, media personalities, activists and lawyers will be tried on charges of insulting the judiciary, the state news agency said on Sunday.
The former president is due to appear in court on January 28 over a mass jail break in 2011.
He also faces charges in connection with the killing of protesters and collaborating with the Palestinian Hamas movement and Lebanese Hezbollah to carry out a terrorist conspiracy against Egypt.
The new trial dates back to Morsi’s time in office, when he named a judge in a public speech and accused him of overseeing fraud in previous elections.
Egypt has been stepping up pressure on the Brotherhood, which it has labelled a terrorist organisation. It has arrested thousands of its leaders on accusations of violence.
The Brotherhood, once Egypt’s best-organised political and religious movement, denies any links to violence and accuses the army of staging a military coup.
Egypt’s interim government is trying to push through a political plan that would lead to presidential and parliamentary elections this year, with army chief General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi seen as a likely candidate.
On Saturday, Egyptians passed a new constitution by a majority of 98.1 percent in a referendum boycotted by the Brotherhood.