Egypt's Morsi trial will not be televised: Appeals court

Ahram Online, Sunday 3 Nov 2013

The trial will take place amid tight security and calls for nationwide protests by Morsi's allies

Cairo Appeals court announced Sunday that ousted president Mohamed Morsi's trial, scheduled for Monday, will not be televised.

The court announced earlier on Sunday that Morsi's trial will take place at the Police Academy, located on the outskirts of Cairo, contrary to earlier reports that the trial would be held in a courtroom at a police institute near Cairo's Tora prison.

Authorities are planning for tight security procedures, with around 20,000 police and army personnel guarding the trial.

A number of groups supporting the deposed president, headed by the Muslim Brotherhood, the group from which Morsi hails, have called for nationwide protests to condemn the former president's trial and denounce what they describe as a "military coup."

Morsi is charged with incitement of murder and violence in the December 2012 Ittihadiya presidential palace clashes. At least eight died in the Ittihadiya clashes, initiated when Morsi supporters attacked a sit-in held by his opponents.  

Morsi will appear alongside 14 other senior Islamists and Muslim Brotherhood figures.

If found guilty, Morsi and his co-defendants could face lifetime imprisonment or the death penalty.

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