Egypt court adjourns mass trial of Morsi supporters

An Egyptian court has adjourned the mass trial of over 1,200 supporters of ousted president, Mohamed Morsi, shortly after it opened in the town of Minya, local media say.

According to Egyptian media, around 500 defendants faced charges during a brief hearing at a court in Minya, situated south of the capital Cairo, on Saturday. The trial of other defendants, most of whom are members and supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood, is slated to begin on Tuesday.

According to judicial sources, the defendants are charged with assaulting security forces and vandalizing public property during the violence that erupted after police stormed two protest camps set up by Morsi’s supporters in Cairo last August.

This is the largest trial in Egypt since the army ousted Morsi on July 3, 2013. Such legal proceedings are conducted as part of a clampdown by the military-backed government on Morsi’s supporters who have remained defiant in their calls for the former president’s reinstatement.

Egypt has been experiencing unrelenting violence since Morsi’s ouster. Hundreds have lost their lives in the ensuing violence across the country.

On August 14, 2013, hundreds of people were reportedly killed and thousands of others wounded in the clashes that erupted when security forces moved in to disperse Morsi’s supporters from two camps – one near the Rabaah al-Adawiya Mosque in Cairo’s Nasr City and a smaller one in Nahda Square in Giza.

According to a report released by the Associated Press earlier this month, Egypt’s military-backed government has jailed nearly 16,000 people since Morsi’s removal. About 3,000 Muslim Brotherhood members are among those who have been put behind bars.