Egypt court adjourns trial after defiant Morsi rejects `illegal` proceedings

Sydney – The Egyptian court conducting ousted President Mohammed Morsi’s trial has reportedly adjourned the hearings to January 8, after the former leader called the court illegal and rejected the proceedings.

Morsi, in his first public appearance after the ouster in July by the Egyptian army, has been charged with involvement in the death of protesters during his year in power.

The former president told the court that he is Dr Mohamed Morsi, the president of the republic and called the court as illegal, news.com.au reports.

Morsi, who came to power in June 2012 as the country’s first democratically elected president, further said that his ouster was a military coup and called on the leaders of the coup to face trial.

According to the report, Morsi along with his Muslim Brotherhood supporters have been charged with the deaths of protesters outside the presidential palace in December 2012 and face the death penalty or a life sentence.

The trial considered as one of the most important in the political history and test Egypt’s new authorities, but analysts believe that the political nature of the trial will not make it a free and fair trial and is a clear reminder of a polarised Egyptian society at this moment of time, the report added.