Morsi's trial on killing protesters postponed to March 1

A Cairo court adjourned Wednesday the trial of Egypt's former president Mohamed Morsi over charges of inciting deadly attacks against protesters till March 1, state television reported. Morsi and the other 14 defendants are accused of inciting violence and ordering the killing of opponents outside the presidential palace in December 2012 who protested a controversial constitutional declaration decreed by Morsi in November 2012 expanding his power. The clashes left at least eight people dead and many others injured. The presiding judge, Ahmed Sabry, decided to postpone the trial until receiving the report of a technical committee assigned by the court to examine the video clips regarding the killing of the protesters, official news agency MENA reported. The defendants claimed in a past session that only two anti- Islamist protesters were killed in the incident while the rest belonged to the Muslim Brotherhood. The court also will hear the testimony of leaders of the presidential guards in the coming session, MENA added. Heavy security has been deployed outside the police academy where the hearing is taking place. Islamists have staged regular protests demanding Morsi's reinstatement since his overthrow by the army in July, calling his ouster a "coup." But they have been met with a heavy crackdown in which hundreds died and thousands were arrested. The Muslim Brotherhood, from which Morsi hails, was declared a terrorist organization in December by the government. Morsi who is currently kept at Borg al-Arab Prison in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria, appeared in public three times since his removal. The former Islamist president also faces other lawsuits over charges of jailbreak, espionage and insulting the judiciary.