Morsi's trial over killing protestors adjourned to Feb 5

A Cairo court Tuesday adjourned to Feb 5 the trial of Egypt's former president Mohamed Morsi over charges of inciting killing of protestors.

It was unclear whether Morsi arrived at the courthouse in the fourth session of the case which was held at the Police Academy headquarters in Cairo under tight security, Xinhua reported citing state TV.

Morsi and 14 other co-defendants are accused of inciting violence and ordering the killing of opponents outside the presidential palace who protested against a controversial constitutional declaration decreed by Morsi in November 2012. The clashes then left at least eight people dead.

The defendants claimed that only two anti-Islamist protesters were killed in the incident while the rest belonged to the Muslim Brotherhood, from which Morsi hails. They held opposition leaders who urged protests, including liberal leader Mohamed El Baradei and leftist ex-presidential candidate Hamdeen Sabahi, accountable for the deaths.

Morsi appeared in public three times since the army removed him from power and placed him in custody in early July 2013 following mass protests against his one-year rule. He is currently kept at Borg al-Arab Prison in the seaside city of Alexandria.

The former Islamist president also faces other lawsuits over charges of jailbreak, espionage and insulting the judiciary.

Since Morsi's ouster, Islamists have been holding protests against the current interim government, especially after mid-August 2013 when security forces dispersed two major pro-Morsi sit-ins in Cairo and Giza, leaving about 1,000 people dead.

The police also arrested thousands of Morsi's loyalists, including some leading Brotherhood members.