[JURIST] The trial of Egypt’s deposed president Mohamed Morsi [BBC profile] for inciting the murder of several protesters began on Monday but was adjourned until January. According to Egyptian news sources, Morsi rejected [Ahram report] the court’s authority by refusing to dress in prison clothing and declaring the trial illegitimate, stating that he was still the lawful president of Egypt. This was Morsi’s first appearance since he was deposed [JURIST report] in July. Morsi apppeared with 14 co-defendants before the court. The case has been adjourned until January 8.

Controversy continues to surround the transition following the Egyptian Revolution [JURIST backgrounder]. Morsi’s actions while in office have generated much criticism, and his trial has prompted a great deal of scholarship [JURIST op-eds]. Egyptian police last Wednesday arrested [JURIST report] a senior leader of the Muslim Brotherhood [BBC backgrounder; JURIST news archive], according to a source from Egypt’s Interior Ministry. That Tuesday three criminal court judges presiding over a Muslim Brotherhood trial resigned without elaboration [JURIST report]. Earlier this month an Egyptian court dismissed charges [JURIST report] against former vice president Mohamed ElBaradei, who served as vice president in the government set up by the military, but stepped down in protest of the violence directed at protesters. Also in October an Amnesty International report showed Egyptian security forces used live ammunition [JURIST report] to disperse protesters. Earlier this month the Muslim Brotherhood filed a lawsuit appealing a court verdict [JURIST reports] ordering the interim government to seize the group’s assets.