Egypt’s Morsi Trial Delayed Due to Weather

Helicopter to transport Morsi is grounded by fog and judge delays proceedings until next month

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The trial for Egypt’s former president Mohammed Morsi was delayed on Wednesday because of weather that kept Morsi from reaching the court.

Morsi was supposed to have been flown by helicopter from the Mediterranean city of Alexandria to the court in eastern Cairo, but Interior Minister Mohammed Ibrahim said that thick fog prevented the helicopter from taking off. Judge Ahmed Sabry Youssef adjourned the trial until Feb. 1, reports the Associated Press.

The former Egyptian president, who was deposed in a military-backed ouster last July, is on trial on charges that he incited the killing of protesters outside of the presidential palace in December 2012. Fourteen other members of the Muslim Brotherhood face similar charges.

Next week, Egyptians are set to vote on a nationwide referendum on a new constitution that would replace the one passed under Morsi. His defense lawyers claim that the trial was deliberately adjourned until after the referendum, and that the judge’s decision is politically motivated.

[AP]