Trial of President Morsi on charges of espionage postponed

The Cairo Criminal Court, headed by Judge Shaban Al-Shamy, decided to adjourn until Wednesday the trial of ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi and 35 other defendants in a controversial case that charges them with espionage.

According to Egyptian media, the court at the Police Academy heard on Tuesday the representative of the public prosecution, Counsel Tamer Al-Ferjany, who confirmed that the prosecution had now handed over all the physical evidence against the defendants.

However, Lawyer Mohammed Eldamaty, a member of the defence team, has again requested for the court to hear the witness testimonies of police and army officers.

Eldamaty explained that the court had assigned the prosecution to summon these witnesses; however, they never showed up.

The defence team had previously talked to witnesses who were serving along Al-Salam Bridge, Martyr Ahmed Hamdi Tunnel and the ferry points on the eastern and western sides of the Suez Canal, between 25 January and 11 February. The defence demanded to enter the witnesses’ testimony and the court assigned the prosecution to summon them, but the defence team was surprised when the court accepted that the prosecution was not able to bring in the witnesses, without giving any reasons for their non-attendance.

The public prosecutor has accused Morsi and the other defendants of “communicating with third parties, disclosing national secrets, committing espionage with foreign organisations and entities outside the country and coordinating with jihadi organisations inside and outside of Egypt in order to stage terrorist operations on Egyptian territory.”