The Sunday trial of several leading Muslim Brotherhood for the death of protesters during deadly clashes outside the Brotherhood headquarters was postponed until 29 March at the request of the prosecution.Muslim Brotherhood Supreme Guide Mohamed Badie and his two deputies Khairat El-Shater and Mohamed Bayoumi, along with 15 other Brotherhood members are charged with inciting the killing of protesters, premeditated murder and possession of firearms, among other crimes, during the 30 June demonstrations that ousted former president Mohamed Morsi.
Several protesters were killed during the demonstration in which the Muslim Brotherhood headquarters in Cairo’s Moqattam neighbourhood was burnt down. People on the scene reported they saw both live ammunition and birdshot being fired from the building.
Nine protesters were killed and 91 were injured during the clashes, according to state-run Al-Ahram.
Additional defendants in the case include Mohamed Beltagy, general secretary of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), and FJP vice chairman Essam Al-Erian.
Brotherhood leaders, including Badie and Morsi, are defendants in several other cases. Charges include espionage, prison break, insulting the judiciary, and inciting the killing of protesters outside the presidential palace in December 2012.
Mohamed Badie was arrested from a Nasr City apartment on 20 August, while Al-Shater was arrested on 5 July. Morsi has been detained since his 3 July ouster. His location was unknown until his first appearance in court on 4 November.
