Trial of Egypt's Brotherhood leader on violence charges postponed

An Egyptian court on Monday adjourned to February 15 the trial of the top Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Badie and 47 other defendants on charges of involvement in last July's clashes in Qalioubiya. The court decided to release one of the defendants in the case, namely high school student Shehab Shehab, but ordered all other 47 defendants to remain in custody, according to an Anadolu Agency reporter who attended the Monday trial session. In December, prosecutors referred Badie and other defendants in the case to the criminal court on charges of alleged involvement in violence in the Nile Delta province of Qalioubiya province in July. The defendants face charges of blocking roads, inciting violence and attacking security forces during clashes on July 22, around three weeks following the ouster of Mursi by the military. Among the other Brotherhood leaders charged in the case are Mohamed al-Beltagi, former Youth Minister Osama Yassin and former Supply Minister Bassem Ouda. Salafist preachers Mohamed Abdel-Maqsoud and Safwat Hegazi also face the same charges. As soon as they arrived to the courtroom, Hegazi chanted against the Egyptian military and called for the downfall of what he called the " military rule." "We are the people…(We're) the redline," he said from inside the cage.