Trial of former Muslim Brotherhood leader on charges of insulting judiciary opens and postponed unti

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• published: 31 Jul 2015
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The trial of a former leader of the Muslim Brotherhood Mohammed Mahdi Akef on charges of insulting the judiciary was postponed until February 2014, a court in Cairo decided Tuesday. The 85-year old Mahdi Akef was arrested after the military coup ousted President Mohammed Morsi in July. Akef is also facing other charges in separate trials of inciting violence and will remain detained. Judge Mustafa Salama Mohammed explained why the trial has been postponed. "The court have decided to postpone the trial until February 11, 2014 as the defence team have requested to call Amr Hosny Abdel Aal, a journalist from a Kuwaiti newspaper (who interviewed Akef) to a witness stand along with the tape from the interview with the defendant and a copy of the published interview. The court have also ordered to release the defendant unless he is wanted in other cases." Akef's trial stems from comments he made in April when he called the judiciary "sick" and "corrupt" during a newspaper interview. At the time Akef also said a law would force into retirement 3,500 of Egypt's 13,000 judges and prosecution officials. Later he distanced himself from the comments. More than 2,000 people, including Morsi himself and top leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood, have been detained since April. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/0acd978cc3aaec77bc7f2f4ead928c29 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork