Tuesday’s courts: All against the Brothers

The Cairo Criminal Court adjourned the case against ousted President Mohamed Morsi and 14 other Muslim Brotherhood members to February 5. The defendants are accused of killing protesters near the Presidential Palace in clashes in December 2012. 

That month, clashes erupted between Morsi supporters and his opposition, as the latter camped at the presidential palace to protest a contested constitutional declaration that granted the president exceptional powers. 

On Tuesday, Morsi appeared in court, located at the Police Academy in the outskirts of Cairo, amid tight security. 

The state-run EgyNews reported that the case was adjourned till Wednesday to hear witnesses' accounts on the case. 

Additionally, the state-run Al-Ahram reported that the court marked March 1 as the date for the submission of a report on footage collected of the clashes, which incriminates the defendants. The report will be submitted by a committee formed by the Television and Radio Union.  

Meanwhile, the state-run Middle East News Agency reported on Tuesday the adjourning of a court case held in Alexandria against 47 members of the Muslim Brotherhood to February 10. The members are accused of belonging to a terrorist organization, blocking roads, attacking security forces and carrying signs against the Armed Forces and the police. 

The defendants were arrested during a march last November in Alexandria. 

The case was reportedly adjourned because defendants, incarcerated at the Borg al-Arab prison, could not be transferred to the court room for security reasons. 

Another postponement took place in the court case against 63 defendants accused of throwing children from the rooftops of buildings during Muslim Brotherhood protests in July in Alexandria.  Over 20 people were killed as these protests turned violent, following Morsi's ouster. The case was adjourned to February 12.

The case against 18 defendants accused of attacking protesters in front of the headquarters of the Muslim Brotherhood last year was also postponed to February 8, the privately owned Al-Masry Al-Youm reported Tuesday. The case includes seven guards of top Brotherhood leader Khairat al-Shater. 

Meanwhile, the Court of Appeals supported the ruling against Habib al-Adly, the former interior minister in the Hosni Mubarak regime. Adly was sentenced to three years in prison on allegations of exploiting conscripts.