Morsi supporters, opponents clash in Cairo

Clashes have broken out between the supporters and opponents of Egypt’s deposed president, Mohamed Morsi, in the capital Cairo on the first day of the former leader’s trial.

On Monday, clashes erupted after hundreds of Morsi backers demonstrated around the High Court in the city. The demonstrators were protesting against what they perceive as the “farcical” trial of the country’s first freely elected president.

Police fired tear gas at the protesters and arrested several of them.

Similar demonstrations were also held in a number of other Egyptian cities, including Alexandria, Damanhur and Port Said.

Morsi appeared in court on Monday morning on charges of inciting the killing of protesters outside the presidential palace in 2012.

At the trial, Morsi is reported to have said that he is the legitimate president of Egypt, calling on the court “to end this farce.”

“I am Dr. Mohamed Morsi, the president of the republic…. This court is illegal,” Morsi told the opening hearing of his trial, adding, “This was a military coup. The leaders of the coup should be tried. A coup is treason and a crime.”

The trial was adjourned to 8 January, and the ousted president, who has been detained at a secret location since his removal, was transferred to a prison in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria.

Egypt has been experiencing unrelenting violence since July 3, when the army ousted Morsi’s government, suspended the constitution, and dissolved the parliament. It also appointed the head of the Supreme Constitutional Court, Adly Mahmoud Mansour, as the new interim president.

About 1,000 people were killed in a week of violence between Morsi supporters and security forces after police dispersed their protest camps in a deadly operation on August 14.

The massacre sparked international condemnation and prompted world bodies to call for an independent investigation into the violence.