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Morsi trial delayed to Feb 1 after court absence

 A supporter of Mohamed Morsi, flashing the "Rabaa" sign, is arrested by Egyptian policemen outside the police academy where his trial is taking place on January 8, 2014 in Cairo/AFP

A supporter of Mohamed Morsi, flashing the “Rabaa” sign, is arrested by Egyptian policemen outside the police academy where his trial is taking place on January 8, 2014 in Cairo/AFP

Cairo January 8 – An Egyptian court on Wednesday adjourned the murder trial of deposed president Mohamed Morsi to February 1, citing “weather conditions” that prevented the Islamist’s transport to court from prison.

It had been scheduled as the second hearing in Morsi’s trial, after an initial court appearance in November in which he denounced the tribunal and insisted he was still the country’s president.

Morsi, who was toppled by the military in July, is accused of inciting the killings of opposition protesters in December 2012 outside the presidential palace.

“Because of the weather conditions, Mohamed Morsi could not be brought, so the trial will be adjourned to February 1,” said presiding judge Ahmed Sabry Youssef.

Morsi is held in prison some 60 kilometres (40 miles) from the Mediterranean city of Alexandria.

He is on trial with 14 co-defendants, but only several were brought Wednesday to the makeshift court house in a police academy on Cairo’s outskirts.

Elsewhere, police fired tear gas at Morsi supporters who had rallied in protest at the trial.

In Cairo’s Nasr City neighbourhood, tyres were burnt and some car windows were smashed during brief clashes.

The interior ministry said 17 people had been arrested.

In the police academy, defendants were held in a room adjacent to the court room as they waited for the hearing to start.

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“This is a political trial,” yelled Essam al Erian, a senior member of Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood movement, who was among the defendants.

His lawyer Bahaa el-Din Abdel Rahman told AFP his client and other defendants had embarked on a hunger strike.

“All the accused who are present today are on hunger strike and reaffirm that they reject this trial,” he said.

Morsi’s trial is seen as a test for Egypt’s new authorities, who have come under fire for heavy handedness.

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