Jailed Egyptian ex-president requests judges’ recusal

By Aydogan Kalabalik

CAIRO

At a Wednesday court session, lawyers for jailed former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi asked presiding judges to recuse themselves due to blatant “hostility” shown towards the defendants.

Morsi, along with 26 co-defendants, faces charges of breaking out of jail during Egypt’s 2011 popular uprising, which forced autocratic President Hosni Mubarak to step down after three decades in power.

According to local judicial sources, Cairo’s Court of Appeals will answer the recusal request this Saturday.

Egypt’s first freely elected president and a leading member of the Muslim Brotherhood group, Morsi was ousted and imprisoned by Egypt’s military in a 2013 military coup.

Morsi currently faces a raft of criminal charges, which he and his supporters say are politically motivated.

In the almost four years since the coup, the Egyptian authorities have waged a fierce crackdown on Morsi’s supporters and members of the now-outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, killing hundreds and throwing tens of thousands behind bars.

* Ali Murat Alhas contributed to this report from Ankara