The trial of deposed president Mohamed Morsi and 35 Muslim Brotherhood leaders on charges of espionage opened on Sunday, 16 February only to be postponed, almost immediately, to 23 February. It was a brief but stormy battle of wills between the Muslim Brotherhood defendants and the court with the former fighting to portray themselves, before domestic and international opinion, as being deprived of basic legal rights. The defence team claimed the defendants were unable to hear the proceedings from inside the glass cage in which they were held and threatened to withdraw from the trial unless the accused were taken out of the soundproofed case. The court refused to concede and the defence lawyers did indeed withdraw apart from two lawyers representing Ayman Ali, a former advisor to the deposed president. In response the court said that it would appoint 10 new lawyers for Morsi and the other defendants, nominated by the Lawyers Syndicate. The court's action seemed to throw the defence team into confusion. Mohamed Selim Al-Awwa, the head of Morsi's defence team, vowed not to attend future sessions unless the glass boxes were removed. “In light of what it has seen, the defence believes that it is impossible for it to perform its duty until the glass box is removed,” he said. Two other defence lawyers, Kamel Mandour and Nabil Abdel-Salam, suggested the court adjourn the session so as to allow the defence to consult with their clients and then meet with the judges in an attempt to hammer out a solution. The defendants applauded the defence team's threat to withdraw. One of the accused, former People's Assembly speaker Saad Al-Katatni, appeared to act as chorus leader, encouraging the other defendants to chant. The stated purpose of the glass boxes is to prevent the defendants from disrupting the trial. “In the event that the glass boxes are removed,” said defence lawyer Nabil Abdel Salam, “the defence team will commit to agreeing to any measures taken by the court, in keeping with the rule of law, to remove any defendant that disrupts the trial.” He appealed to the court to “implement the law and remove the glass cages as they are prejudicial to justice”. His colleague Kamel Mandour was not as coolheaded. “You cannot order the removal of the glass cages until you obtain the approval of the authorities,” he told the court. “We will not return to the hearings until we are notified by the Lawyers Syndicate that the authorities have removed that glass cage.” A public prosecution lawyer accused the defence team of seeking to stall the hearings. “The glass boxes were tested and the defendants could hear what was happening in the courtroom very clearly. Proof of this could be seen when they clapped enthusiastically in response to the defence team's declaration of its decision to withdraw from the trial.” The trial was adjourned an hour after it started. The court was unable to complete even preliminary procedures because of the defence team's outcries over the glass boxes. The hour was dedicated to a heated debate between the defence and the court, with the former persistent in its demands that the court remove the glass boxes. Many observers accuse the Muslim Brothers and their lawyers of seeking to buy time in which to cast the defendants as victims of injustice. As the drama played out in the courtroom a terrorist bomb struck a tourist bus in Taba. Several analysts argued the bomb signalled that the Muslim Brotherhood and its supporters have finally realised their campaign to sustain pressure on the government with marches and demonstrations has failed and that they have now turned to terrorist violence aimed at debilitating the country economically. It is telling that the number of Morsi supporters outside the courtroom has dwindled. Indeed, many of those gathered outside the Police Academy where the trial was held on Sunday were carrying pictures of Field Marshal Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi. It may well be the case that the inability of the Muslim Brotherhood and their supporters to mobilise support in the street has led them to opt for terrorist violence. Both sides — the government and the Muslim Brotherhood — are in a difficult position, especially with respect to international public opinion which is following the trials of the ousted president and is receiving the impression that the defendants are being deprived of their legal rights. The withdrawal of the defence team, apart from Ali's two lawyers, may work to increase sympathy for the Brotherhood abroad and among those Egyptians who believe the Brotherhood ranks as one of the most persecuted political groups in history.
