Egypt’s Morsi Jail Break Trial Adjourned To 18 October

An Egyptian court Wednesday postponed to 18 October the trial of ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi and 130 others on charges of jail breaking, judicial sources said.

The case is linked to the escape of more than 20,000 inmates from three Egyptian prisons during the early days of the 2011 popular uprising that toppled longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak.

Morsi and co-defendants face charges of damaging and setting fire to prison buildings, murder, attempted murder, looting prison weapons depots and releasing prisoners.

The prisoners who allegedly broke out of jail include members of the Palestinian Hamas movement, Lebanon’s Hizbullah, jihadists, Muslim Brotherhood members and varied criminals, according to the prosecution.

Prosecutors said over 800 fighters from Gaza had infiltrated Egypt, using RPGs and heavy armaments to storm three prisons, abducting four policemen and killing several others, along with inmates.

Others accused in the prison break case include senior Brotherhood leaders Saad El-Katatni, Essam El-Erian, Mohamed El-Beltagy, and pro-Brotherhood Islamic preacher Safwat Hegazy.

Morsi faces three other trials on charges of spying for foreign groups, leaking classified documents to Qatar, and inciting the murder of his opponents during his year in office.

Source : Ahram online