A court in Egypt adjourned the mass trial of more than 1,200 supporters of deposed Islamist president Mohammed Mursi after a brief hearing on Saturday, state media reported.<\/p>\n
The country’s biggest trial since the army removed Mursi last July after a turbulent single year in office was adjourned until Monday.<\/p>\n
About 500 defendants faced charges at a court in Minya, south of Cairo, with the trial of the remainder due to begin on Tuesday, state news agency MENA reported.<\/p>\n
The legal proceedings are part of a crackdown by the military-installed authorities on Mursi’s Islamist supporters who remain steadfast in demanding his reinstatement.<\/p>\n
Egypt’s first elected and civilian president was ousted by the army on July 3 in a move that triggered widespread unrest across a deeply polarized nation.<\/p>\n
The defendants are accused of attacking both people and public property in southern Egypt in August, after security forces broke up two Cairo protest camps set up by Mursi supporters.<\/p>\n
They are also charged with committing acts of violence that led to the deaths of two policemen in Minya, judicial sources said.<\/p>\n
Monday’s session is set to further examine charges against those defendants who attended Saturday’s hearing.<\/p>\n
The court session was closed to the media, so it was unclear how many of the accused appeared in person.<\/p>\n
Earlier, the judicial sources said around 200 of the defendants are in detention, while others are either out on bail or on the run.<\/p>\n
Among the defendants are the supreme guide of the now-banned Muslim Brotherhood, Mohammed Badie, and several other leaders of the movement, MENA reported.<\/p>\n
Hundreds of people died in the August 14 assault on the two Cairo protest camps and in subsequent clashes that day.<\/p>\n
Amnesty International says at least 1,400 people have been killed in violence across Egypt since then, while thousands more have been arrested.<\/p>\n
Mursi is himself currently on trial in three different cases, including one for inciting the killing of protesters outside a presidential palace during his presidency.<\/p>\n
Mursi was removed after just 12 months as president following mass street protests against his rule amid allegations of power grabbing and worsening an already weak economy.<\/p>\n
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