Egypt adjourns second Morsi trial

Judges decided to postpone the trial until February 22 to allow the lawyers time to review the case’s files.

Morsi stood inside a glass-encased metal cage on Monday, separated from other defendants for the start of a new trial over charges concerning prison breaks during the country’s 2011 revolution.

Morsi and 130 other defendants are accused of organising prison breaks during the height of the 18-days uprising against his predecessor Hosni Mubarak.

More than 20,000 inmates, including Morsi and Brotherhood leaders, escaped from prison following one of the most violent days of the uprising that eventually led to the virtual collapse of the police and their withdrawal from the streets.

Morsi was later elected president but was overthrown on July 3 after a year in power. He was flown in by helicopter from Borg al-Arab prison in Alexandria.

Only 19 of the 129 other defendants in the case, including the leader of Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood group and other leading figures, are held by authorities. The rest are on the run.