Cairo: The trial of Egypt’s ousted president Mohammad Mursi on charges of insulting the judiciary is to start on Saturday in Cairo, marking the latest trial for the Islamist leader who is already serving a 20-year jail term in another case.
The Cairo Criminal Court will start hearing the case against Mursi and 24 others including Islamist and secular activists and media people charged with defaming the judiciary in media remarks in the years of 2012 and 2013.
The defendants include Alaa Abdul Fatah, a jailed prominent secular activist who participated in the 2011 popular uprising against long-time president Husny Mubarak; Mustafa Al Najar, an ex-lawmaker and a vociferous critic of incumbent President Abdul Fattah Al Sissi; and Amr Hamzawi, a political science professor; and pro-Mubarak TV show host Tawfik Okasha.
The accused from Mursi’s Muslim Brotherhood include ex-parliament speaker Saad al-Katatni and former lawmaker Mohammad Al Beltajui.
Mursi is being tried in another case related to alleged leaking of highly classified documents to Qatar while in power.
Last week, an Egyptian court gave him a preliminary death sentence on charges of a prison escape during the 2011 uprising against Mubarak.
The sentence has been referred to the country’s chief Islamic authority, the Grand Mufti, to approve or reject it. This reference is mandatory under Egyptian law in death penalty cases.
The final verdict is set for June 2.
Last month, Mursi was given 20 years in prison after convicted of inciting violence against anti-Islamist protesters in 2012 when he was in office.
In 2013, the army toppled Mursi following enormous street protests against his one-year rule.
