organization:cairo criminal court

Egypte : Pour la 1ère fois, Mohamed Morsi a pu s’adresser à la Cour hier. Il a déclaré qu’il était « toujours le président légitime », déposé par « un coup d’Etat » et qu’il « ne reconnaissait pas l’autorité du tribunal et de ses juges » - Ahram Online

▻http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/120636.aspx

Former president Mohamed Morsi defended himself in court on Sunday for the first time since his ouster, claiming he was innocent of charges of espionage and asserting that he was still Egypt’s president.
“I am still the legitimate president of the country, who came (to power) through fair elections,” he stated to the Cairo Criminal Court.

Morsi, who was ousted in July 2013, took the opportunity to reiterate the argument frequently repeated by his allies, describing his deposal as a "coup d’état.”

Morsi was removed after mass protests nationwide against his rule. He was immediately detained, initially in a secret location, and subsequently charged with a variety of crimes including espionage and inciting murder.

Speaking for two hours at his trial for espionage, Morsi recalled the moment when he was arrested by the head of the presidential guard, Mohamed Zaki.

“I told him, ’Are you crazy? You take your orders from me,’” said the former president.

Morsi and 35 others are on trial on charges of collaborating with foreign organisations – namely Gaza rulers Hamas, an ideological offshoot of the Brotherhood – to commit acts of terrorism in Egypt.

Morsi denied the charges, stressing that a fact-finding report that was issued during his presidency in 2012 upon his request showed that a “sovereign entity” affiliated with “the coup leader” was involved in the Battle of the Camel, a name given to deadly clashes that took place during the 18-day uprising.

He said that, according to the testimonies of workers at hotels overlooking Tahrir Square, where the clashes took place, those who were on the roofs had identification cards belonging to that entity.

Egypt’s incumbent president Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi was head of military intelligence at the time.

Morsi also refused to acknowledge the authority of the court trying him. “You are not my judges and this is not my trial,” he said. He did however express respect for the judiciary in his remarks.

Morsi claimed that one reason why he was ousted was that the Islamist-majority parliament and the government led by Kamal El-Ganzouri, a prominent Mubarak-era figure, were at loggerheads.

“El-Ganzouri once told [Parliamentary speaker Saad] El-Katatni… ’an appeal lodged in the drawer of the constitutional court would dissolve it (Parliament),” he said.

The parliament’s lower house was dissolved in 2012 due to a court verdict of unconstitutionality in the electoral process which formed it. The upper house was dissolved in 2013 as part of the roadmap which replaced Morsi’s rule.

The court adjourned the case to 21 January.

Sur @OrientXXI
Quand un juge égyptien condamne 529 personnes d’un coup ►http://orientxxi.info/magazine/quand-un-juge-egyptien-condamne-a,0552

Une justice politisée et sans contrôle ▻http://orientxxi.info/magazine/egypte-une-justice-politisee-et,0522

Égypte, une stratégie d’élimination des Frères musulmans
►http://orientxxi.info/magazine/egypte-une-strategie-d-elimination,0362

Egypt : Defense witnesses testify as Shura Council retrial draws to a close | Mada Masr

▻http://www.madamasr.com/news/defense-witnesses-testify-shura-council-retrial-draws-close

Witnesses for the defense in the Shura Council protest case testified before the Cairo Criminal Court on Thursday for the first time since their retrial began in late October. The testimonies contradicted the prosecution’s narrative presented in the last court session, as the witnesses questioned the legality of their arrests and accused security forces of committing flagrant violations.

In the vortex of power: man and state in Arab politics
▻http://mondediplo.com/blogs/in-the-vortex-of-power-man-and-state-in-arab

A few days ago, the Cairo Criminal Court acquitted Egypt’s former president Hosni Mubarak and his top security aides on charges of killing hundreds of protesters during the January 2011 uprising. Yet four years ago, Egypt’s revolutionary youth had focused in their quest for freedom on deposing the octogenarian leader who had ruled, and misruled, the country for 30 years.

Mubarak handed 3 years in ‘Presidential Palace’ trial - Daily News Egypt
▻http://www.dailynewsegypt.com/2014/05/21/mubarak-handed-3-years-presidential-palace-trial

The Cairo Criminal Court sentenced ousted president Hosni Mubarak to three years in a maximum security prison on Wednesday on corruption charges.

Sons Gamal and Alaa were also sentenced to four years each in a maximum security prison. Collectively, they were fined EGP 125m and are required to repay EGP 21m.

Court issues gag order on Morsi espionage trial | Mada Masr
▻http://madamasr.com/content/court-issues-gag-order-morsi-espionage-trial

The Cairo Criminal Court on Tuesday issued a gag order on the trial of deposed president Mohamed Morsi and 35 other Muslim Brotherhood members accused of espionage, Al-Ahram reported.

The court also adjourned the trial to April 28, when it is scheduled to hear witnesses’ testimonies and review other evidence.

Morsi, along with 35 other defendants, faces charges of conspiring with foreign organizations to carry out terrorist acts in the country, revealing military secrets to foreign countries, conducting military training that aims to achieve the goals of the international Muslim Brotherhood organization, and committing acts that jeopardize the independence, unity and security of the nation.

17 Morsi supporters sentenced for Shubra violence - Daily News Egypt

▻http://www.dailynewsegypt.com/2014/04/09/17-morsi-supporters-sentenced-shubra-violence

The Cairo Criminal Court handed 17 supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi sentences between three and seven years each on Wednesday.

Egyptian press looking sympathetic to Mubarak on anniversary of his downfall

Marking the third anniversary of the downfall of former Egyptian president Husni Mubarak, the local press picked up on the testimony of former chief of the Republican Guard who said that Mubarak gave “clear” instructions not to attack protesters during the January 2011 uprising.

The testimony is seen to go in favour of Mubarak, thus leading some local newspapers to adopt what seemed to be a sympathetic tone towards Mubarak.

Brigadier Ayman Fahim gave his testimony before Cairo Criminal Court on 10 February when the court resumed the trial of Mubarak, his two sons, and his interior minister Habib al-Adli on charges of killing protesters in 2011. The trial was adjourned to 8 March.

In his testimony, Fahim said that Mubarak ordered the Republican Guard not to attack the protesters “even if they raided the presidential palace and the bedroom of Mubarak himself”.

Fahim added that Mubarak ordered the Armed Forces to take to the streets to secure citizens and public and private properties.

Picking up on this, private Al-Wafd daily ran a bold banner front-page headline reading: “Former chief of Republican Guard makes surprises in the century’s trial.” The paper allocated two whole inside pages for the third anniversary of Mubarak’s downfall.

State-run Al-Ahram newspaper also highlighted Fahim’s testimony, with much focus on the part in which he said that “the 25 January incidents were a conspiracy in which the USA used [Muslim] Brotherhood leaders and members”.

In a special report spread over three inside pages, the newspaper highlighted the anniversary of Mubarak’s downfall. The report was entitled: “A day that Egyptians will never forget.”

Private Al-Watan daily gave prominence to the part of Fahim’s testimony in which he said that Mubarak ordered the army to “protect the demonstrators”. It devoted two inside pages to the anniversary where it reviewed “the story of 18 days that turned the hero of war and peace to an ousted president”, in reference of Mubarak.

Similarly, private Al-Misri al-Yawm daily highlighted the testimony and allocated a whole inside page for the anniversary.

Under a headline reading “Mubarak believes that 25 January incidents were pounce by the Brotherhood on the youths’ uprising”, the newspaper ran an interview with Mubarak’s lawyer Farid al-Dib.

Source: Media observation by BBC Monitoring in Arabic 11 Feb 14

Egypte : Au tribunal, une victime de tortures affirme que la police l’a forcé à accuser des partisans de Mohamed Morsi | Egypt Independent

▻http://www.egyptindependent.com/news/rabaa-sit-torture-victim-says-police-forced-him-accuse-morsy-suppo

Ahmed Hassan Mohamed, the victim of torture who had formerly accused five supporters of toppled President Mohamed Morsy of beating him and cutting his finger at Rabaa al-Adaweya sit-in in June, recused his prior statement on Thursday, saying the defendants were in fact innocent.
Mohamed said before Cairo Criminal Court that the arrested protesters never tortured him but a police officer forced him to accuse them in an official complaint.

#Rabea #violence #police

Egyptian veteran blogger Alaa Abdel Fattah released - Global Voices Advocacy
►http://advocacy.globalvoicesonline.org/2011/12/27/egyptian-veteran-blogger-alaa-abdel-fattah-released

Egyptian veteran blogger Alaa Abdel Fattah has finally been released pending investigation from the Cairo Criminal Court yesterday after being detained for 56 days.

#Egypte