Essam El-Batawi, defence lawyer for former interior minister Habib El-Adly, continued laying out his case for his client’s innocence on Tuesday, claiming that Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood (MB) had planned in advance to participate in last year’s 28 January “Friday of Rage” demonstrations in Cairo’s Tahrir Square in coordination with the interior ministry, with the understanding that protests would remain peaceful in nature.

According to El-Batawi, meetings were held between Brotherhood members and representatives of the State Security apparatus in the run-up to 28 January. 

The lawyer also defended El-Adly, saying his client had never issued orders to withdraw police forces from Egypt’s streets. He went on to assert that Adly Fayed, former head of the ministry’s security department, had directed security forces to secure vital state institutions with a view to maintaining stability. 

El-Adly, along with six of his aides and ousted president Hosni Mubarak, stands accused of ordering security forces to open fire on unarmed protesters during last year’s protests that left over 846 killed and some 11,000 injured.

Trial proceedings are expected to resume on Thursday.