Egypt’s ousted leader Mohammed Morsi has gone on trial in Cairo, telling the judge the case is illegitimate as he remains president.
He and 14 other Muslim Brotherhood figures face charges of inciting the killing of protesters outside the presidential palace in 2012.
After Mr Morsi’s remarks and his refusal to wear a uniform, the judge adjourned the trial until 8 January.
Protests took place outside the court and elsewhere in Cairo.
There was so much noise and disruption during what was at times almost a circus-like hearing that the judge had to adjourn proceedings twice.
Mohammed Morsi arrived looking quite relaxed. He waved at supporters when he came in, he smiled and gave the four-finger salute [used by his supporters].
Almost as soon as the judge began speaking he began interrupting. He shouted out repeatedly, even when his voice was hoarse. He kept repeating: “This is not a legitimate trial, this trial is part of the coup; the coup itself is a crime.”
He interrupted the first session at least three times before the judge adjourned. During the second session he interrupted twice saying: “I am the president, I am the president, you have no right to conduct a trial into presidential matters”.
He sat quietly during the first break in the trial and was surrounded by some of his fellow defendants, members of the Brotherhood he has not seen since he was removed by the military. He smiled, gesticulated and gave one of them a bear hug.
Mr Morsi was ousted by the military in July after protests against his rule. Until now he has been held at a secret military location but the judge announced that he would instead be taken to jail.
Some reports say that he will be held at Tora prison on the outskirts of Cairo, others that he will be taken to Burj al-Arab jail in Alexandria. A decision is due to be taken by the Cairo court of appeal, state-run Mena news agency says.
Early on Monday Mr Morsi was brought into the sprawling Police Academy compound by helicopter. Other defendants, including Essam el-Erian, Mohammed al-Beltagi and Ahmed Abdel Aatie, were said to have arrived in armoured personnel carriers.
No television pictures were broadcast from the court although journalists were allowed in for the former president’s first public appearance since he was deposed on 3 July.
As he entered the courtroom, Mr Morsi refused to remove his blue suit and put on the required white prison uniform. The defendants, who were being held in a cage in the courtroom, chanted “illegal, illegal”.
When asked to give his name, the former president gave a defiant response, according to reporters inside the court.
Named after Cairo’s Rabaa al-Adawiya Square, where hundreds of Morsi supporters were killed in August
“Rabaa” means “four” in Arabic
Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan used the gesture on 17 August to signal condemnation of the crackdown on Morsi supporters
Later that day, top Turkish footballer Emre Belozoglu also used the Rabaa gesture as a victory sign after scoring a goal. He was criticised for politicising the game
Anti-Morsi groups have used distorted versions of the gesture with offensive intent
“I am Dr Mohammed Morsi, the president of the republic. I am Egypt’s legitimate president. You have no right to conduct a trial into presidential matters.”
The judge twice temporarily halted proceedings before adjourning the case until January.
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