Morsi doesn’t recognize Nov. 4 trial

Egypt’s deposed president Mohamed Morsi does not recognize the authority of the court that is set to try him next week on charges of inciting violence, his supporters have said.

“No lawyers will be defending President Mohamed Morsi, neither Egyptians nor foreigners, because the president does not recognize the trial or any action and processes that result from the coup,” the Muslim Brotherhood-led Anti-Coup Alliance said in a statement issued on Monday.

The group said a team of Egyptian lawyers would be attending the trial with Morsi, but only “to observe proceedings, not to defend him.”

The Anti-Coup Alliance denied reports by some pro-military newspapers saying that the Muslim Brotherhood hired an international organization of lawyers from Qatar and Turkey to defend Morsi in the trial, scheduled for November 4.

“We stress that these rumors are completely unfounded, just like the pack of lies and misinformation the military-led media regularly report to divert attention from the crimes, atrocities and violations committed by coup authorities every day, the most serious crime of which is the denial of justice,” the statement noted.

The group called on international human rights activists and lawyers to attend the trial to see firsthand “the trampling of justice.”

It also asked Brotherhood supporters to hold massive demonstrations on the day of trial.

Morsi and other Brotherhood members have been charged with “inciting the killing and torture of protesters” during the clashes that took place last November.

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.