Deposed Egyptian president, Morsi arrives in Cairo to face trial

Deposed Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi arrived at a Cairo police academy today to face trial in what according to opponents of the army-backed government was a part of a campaign to crush his Muslim Brotherhood and revive a police state, Reuters reports.

The development comes as the second in just over two years that an overthrown president ended up court in the country that some fear was sliding back into autocratic rule.

According to the Muslim Brotherhood, it would not abandon street protests to pressure the army, which toppled Morsi on 3 July, to reinstate him. However, the heavy security presence in the country came as a reminder of a crackdown which saw hundreds of Morsi supporters killed with thousands more rounded up.

The uprising that led to the ouster of Hosni Mubarak in 2011 had rekindled hopes of Egypt embracing democracy and human rights and eventually enjoy economic prosperity.

However, the power struggle between the Brotherhood and the army-backed government had led to prolonged uncertainty.

According to commentators, the trial of Morsi and 14 others on charges of inciting violence would mark the next flashpoint in the ongoing standoff.

Morsi and his supporters have been charged with inciting violence that led to the deaths of about a dozen people in clashes outside the presidential palace in December.

Meanwhile, Morsi struck a defiant tone on the first day of his trial today, and chanted 'Down with military rule'. He called himself the country's only 'legitimate' president.

Morsi, appeared angry and repeatedly interrupted the proceedings, prompting a judge to adjourn the case.

The trial was not being aired on state television and journalists were not allowed to bring their telephones into the courtroom, according to the report.

Morsi defiantly told the court that the trial was illegitimate, which prompted the judge to adjourn the session. Proceedings are expected to resume later today.

Meanwhile, Voice of American reported that Ahmed Abdel Gawad, a member of Morsi's legal team has rejected the trial saying they did not recognize the legal proceedings. However, while conceding that the trial would go ahead, he demanded a live, international broadcast of all sessions.

Meanwhile, tensions are running high with the military-backed government continuing its crackdown against Morsi supporters and other Islamists.

According to Human Rights Watch 1,300 people had died in confrontations since July and asked, what it would take for the authorities to rein in security forces.

Most of the anti-interim government protests had been peaceful, and some had spread to university campuses.

There were also attacks on security forces, though especially in the Sinai peninsula, by militant Islamists with the pro-government media conflating the protests and attacks as terrorist movements.