The judges presiding over the trial of leaders of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood stepped down from the proceedings today because security agencies would not allow the defendants to attend in court, apparently out of fear of protests, judicial officials said.
Separately, a Brotherhood-led Islamist coalition said ousted President Mohammed Morsi refuses to appoint a lawyer to represent him in his trial, which is due to start on Nov 4, because he does not recognise the court or the political system set up since his ouster by the military.
The developments reflect the political storms surrounding the series of trials of Brotherhood members that come hand in hand with wide-scale crackdown by the new military-backed authorities against Morsi's Brotherhood since his July 3 ouster. Morsi's Islamist allies denounce the prosecutions as show trials and political vengeance. The authorities, meanwhile, seek to show that the Brotherhood has been fuelling violence in the country, during Morsi's one-year presidency and after the coup, and to establish legal justification for imprisoning them.
The judges stepped down from the trial of 35 Brotherhood members, including the group's top leader Mohammed Badie and his powerful deputy Khairat el-Shater, on charges of inciting violence. The move forces the trial, which was only holding its second session today, to start over.
The move amounted to a sharp criticism of the proceedings. So far, in its two sessions since August, none of the defendants has attended the trial, apparently out of inability to ensure their safety or fear Brotherhood supporters would hold protests outside the Cairo Criminal Court where it is being held.
Announcing the three-judge panel's decision, judge Mohammed el-Qarmouti said only that it was because the panel "felt uneasiness," according to a court official. The judge did not elaborate, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media.
