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Egypt's Morsi to face trial in military court

Arab World Materials 18 February 2015 01:25 (UTC +04:00)
Egypt's public prosecutor has referred former President Mohamed Morsi and several officials of the banned Muslim Brotherhood to a military court, on charges of committing violence.
Egypt's Morsi to face trial in military court

Egypt's public prosecutor has referred former President Mohamed Morsi and several officials of the banned Muslim Brotherhood to a military court, on charges of committing violence, state media has said, Al Jazeera reported.

The military court has set the start of the trial for February 23, the Al-Ahram newspaper reported on Tuesday.

Morsi is accused of incitement to violence, disturbing public order and inciting riots.

Morsi already faces four other ongoing trials, but this is the first time that his case has been referred to a military court.

The other defendants include Mohamed Beltagy and Khairat al-Shater, a businessman and key Muslim Brotherhood leader.

The latest charge against the former president stemmed from protests that broke out in Suez on August 14, 2013, the day police broke up pro-Morsi protest camps in the capital Cairo, and killed hundreds of his supporters in clashes.

Morsi himself was already detained at an undisclosed location by the military at the time, but the prosecution alleges he incited the protests that left 31 people dead over two days.

Military trials have been criticised for their harsh and swift verdicts.

Morsi has repeatedly denied his role in the violence in Egypt, and said that he does not recognise the legitimacy of the courts hearing the charges against him.

He said that those in the military responsible for ousting him should be behind bars.

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