CAIRO (AA) – The National Alliance for the Defense of Legitimacy, a coalition of parties and groups that demand the reinstatement of ousted President Mohamed Morsi, has called for massive protests on Monday to coincide with the start of Morsi's trial in which he will face charges of "inciting violence."
The Cairo Appeals Court has set November 4 for the start of the trial of Morsi – Egypt's first democratically-elected president – and 14 of his aides.
The defendants face charges – which critics insist are politically motivated – of inciting the murder of protesters outside Cairo's Ittihadiya presidential palace late last year.
It will be Morsi's first court appearance since his July 3 ouster by the military following massive and well-coordinated protests against his presidency.
The alliance has dubbed the planned protests 'The Test of the Popular Will,' leading alliance member Ali Khafagi told Anadolu Agency, going on to predict that Monday's protests would be the biggest since Morsi's ouster this summer.
"The people will take to the streets to reject the military coup and the trial of the legitimate president," he said.
"Massive marches will set out for the courthouse [in which Morsi is being tried], which is believed to be the police sergeants' institute adjacent to Tora Prison," Khafagi added.
The Interior Ministry has not officially settled on a location for the trial. However, some security sources told AA earlier that the trial was expected to be held at the police academy near Tora Prison, south of Cairo.
Earlier this week, a spokesperson for Morsi's defense team said that team members would attend the first court session on November 4 as observers – not as lawyers – since the ousted leader did not recognize the trial's validity.
Morsi – Egypt's first freely elected leader – was removed from power by the military following massive, well-coordinated demonstrations against his presidency that began on June 30.
The unconstitutional change of government is described by the ousted president's backers as a military coup, while the move's supporters call it a military-backed "popular uprising."
Also standing trial on November 4 will be senior Muslim Brotherhood leaders Mohamed al-Beltagi and Essam al-Erian, the latter of whom will be tried in absentia.
Former Morsi presidential aides Asaad Sheikha, Ahmed Abdel-Aati and Ayman Abdel-Raouf, meanwhile, all face similar charges of "incitement to murder."
Prosecutors allege the defendants incited the killing of ten people during last year's clashes outside Cairo's Ittihadiya presidential palace.
Morsi is further accused of "conspiring" with Gaza-based resistance faction Hamas with the aim of carrying out "hostile acts" inside Egypt.
Morsi faces additional charges of helping prisoners – including himself – break out of jail during Egypt's 2011 revolution, sabotaging public property and abducting security personnel.
Pro-democracy protesters converge on Cairo court complex
Scores of pro-democracy protesters staged rallies on Tuesday outside a court complex in central Cairo to denounce what they describe as the July 3 military coup against ousted President Mohamed Morsi.
Protesters gathered outside Egypt's High Court of Justice in response to calls by the National Allegiance for the Defense of Legitimacy, Morsi's main support bloc, to show solidarity with a handful of pro-Morsi judges recently referred to a disciplinary committee for alleged "involvement in politics."
Under Egyptian judicial law, judges are prohibited from involving themselves in domestic politics.
Army reinforcements arrived at the complex and barricades were erected around the court building to prevent attempts to storm it by protesters.
In a statement, the pro-Morsi alliance said Tuesday's rallies aimed "to defend Egypt's honorable judges and the Judiciary," noting the recent referral of Judge Walid Sharabi – spokesman for the pro-Morsi "Judges for Egypt" movement – to a disciplinary committee.
Morsi, Egypt's first freely-elected leader, was removed from power by the powerful military establishment this summer after massive, well-coordinated protests against his presidency that began on June 30.
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