Egypt's ousted President Morsi faces first verdict

Egypt's former President Mohammed Morsi is due to face his first verdict since his ousting, on charges of inciting the killing of protesters.

If found guilty he could receive the death penalty. The ruling will be the first in several trials he is facing.

Mr Morsi was deposed by the army in July 2013 following mass street protests against his rule.

Since then, the authorities have banned his Muslim Brotherhood party and arrested thousands of his supporters.

Mr Morsi and several other Muslim Brotherhood leaders are accused of inciting supporters to kill a journalist and opposition protestors in clashes outside the presidential palace in late 2012.

As crowds grew outside the palace, Mr Morsi ordered the police to disperse them.
They refused, so the Muslim Brotherhood brought in their own supporters. Eleven people died in the ensuing clashes, mostly from the Brotherhood.

Ahead of the verdict, the Brotherhood accused one-time army chief and now President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi of using the judiciary "as a weapon".

Mr Morsi himself has rejected the authority of the courts, shouting during his first trial that he was the victim of a military coup.

He is facing four separate trials on charges including spying for foreign powers, some of which also carry a maximum sentence of death.

On Monday, a court sentenced 22 Muslim Brotherhood supporters to death for an attack on a police station in Cairo, part of an ongoing crackdown against the Brotherhood.

/By BBC/