The Cairo Criminal Court adjourned on Saturday the trial of former ousted president Mohamed Morsi and 24 other defendants, which include some of his political opponents and some of his supporters, to 11 February in the “insulting the judiciary” case.
The defendants are facing charges of inciting demonstrations, defamation through the usage of communication tools, and toppling the state using Twitter accounts.
The case includes rights activist Alaa Abdel Fattah, political figures Amr Hamzawy, Hamdy Al-Fakhrany, and Mostafa Al-Naggar, along with journalist Abdel Halim Andeel.
Morsi is currently being tried in several other cases including espionage. He was granted retrials in other cases including the “jailbreak” case. In June 2015, Morsi was found guilty in the “jailbreak” case and a death sentence verdict was issued against him; however, the court revoked the verdict.
According to Egypt’s penal code, charges for insulting the judiciary are included under the provision of “assault on public officials while doing their jobs”. The penalty ranges from six months to one year in prison and a fine between EGP 200 and EGP 500.
Morsi was the first democratically-elected president to Egypt in 2013, following the 25 January Revolution. However, following one year under his ruling, mass protests erupted against him and demanded him to step down. When Morsi didn’t take action regarding these protests, the armed forces ousted him in a move that was depicted by his supporters and several foreign countries as a military coup.
