Morsi's ‘Qatar espionage’ trial adjourned

An Egyptian court adjourned the trial of ousted President Mohamed Morsi on Sunday, wherein he is accused of espionage on behalf of the State of Qatar. The proceedings are expected to restart today (Monday).

Cairo Criminal Court, sitting at the Police Academy to the east of the Egyptian capital, decided to adjourn Morsi’s trial, along with that of 10 other defendants, after accusing them of “spying and leaking documents issued by sovereign state institutions to the presidency institution and disclosing them to the State of Qatar”. The adjournment was made in order to complete administrative procedures. All of the accused were remanded in custody after denying the charges.

In addition to the main charge, Morsi is accused of “exploiting his position [as president] and disclosing Egyot’s national security secrets.” Those accused with him include the director of his office, Ahmed Abdel-Ati; Amin Al-Serafi, the former secretary in the Presidency of the Republic; Ahmed Afifi, a documentary film producer; and Khalid Radwan, a TV production director linked to the Muslim Brotherhood’s now defunct channel Masr 25.