On Saturday the Cairo Court of Appeals will hear a motion by the defence team of deposed president Mohamed Morsi asking the bench to recuse itself in the case of inciting the killing of protesters outside the presidential palace in December 2012. The defence in the trial, which has faced numerous delays, has asked the judges in the case to step down on accusations of bias, confirmed Morsi's attorney Mohamed Damati. Morsi and 14 other co-defendants appeared in court in previous hearings in a soundproof glass case in the courtroom preventing verbal access to their attorneys, which the defence said compromised the court's neutrality. The defence team for two other leading Muslim Brotherhood members – Mohamed Al-Beltagy and Safwat Hegazy – have asked that judges recuse themselves in two cases in which Morsi is a co-defendant. They are facing charges of espionage and escaping from prison. In total, Morsi is a co-defendant in four trials: inciting the killing of protesters during deadly clashes outside the presidential palace in December 2012, insulting the judiciary, escaping from Wadi El-Natrun Prison during the opening days of the 25 January Revolution, and for espionage for working with foreign Islamist groups to create chaos in Egypt. Morsi has been in custody since being ousted by the military on 3 July. Until his first appearance in court on 4 November, his place of detention was unknown.
