Egyptian court adjourns trial of Brotherhood’s Supreme Guide

An Egyptian court has adjourned the trial of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Supreme Guide until 4 July. Mohamed Badei and other members of the movement are charged with murder, attempted murder and inciting violence in incidents dating back to 2013.

The case revolves around protests and clashes that erupted on 30 June, 2013 outside the Muslim Brotherhood’s headquarters, the Guidance Bureau. Protesters were demanding the ouster of then-President Mohamed Morsi while Morsi’s supporters insisted that he should remain in power until the end of his presidential term in 2016. The anti-Morsi protests were followed on 3 July by a military coup in which the democratically-elected President, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, was overthrown.

Since Morsi’s ouster, the Egyptian authorities have outlawed the movement as a “terrorist organisation” and launched an unprecedented crackdown on its members, supporters and sympathisers. The crackdown has spread to include democrats and human rights defenders among its victims. Numerous Brotherhood members have been arrested and prosecuted in cases that are described by observers and human rights groups as “political”.

The Egyptian government blames the Brotherhood for a wave of violence and militant insurgency that has gripped the country since the coup. The movement denies the accusations.

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