Morsi's defence team consider withdrawing from trial

Defence lawyers for ousted Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi and a number of other Muslim Brotherhood leaders are mulling a withdrawal from their clients' ongoing trials, well-placed sources said Monday.

"The defence team has met recently to discuss whether to continue defending the ousted president and Brotherhood leaders or to pull out of the trials," one of the sources told Anadolu Agency.

The source cited what he described as "the bad shape of Egypt's justice system" and frequent "unjustified court verdicts" for the decision.

Morsi, Egypt's first freely elected leader, was ousted by the army last year – and later imprisoned on a raft of criminal charges – following demonstrations against his presidency.

Several leaders of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood movement – the group from which Morsi hails – are also standing trial for violence-related charges, which the defendants insist are politically motivated.

Late last year, the government designated the Muslim Brotherhood a "terrorist" organization.

At the same time, an Egyptian judicial disciplinary panel forced two judges known for supporting ousted president Mohamed Morsi into retirement for taking part in "political activities."

The panel upheld a decision forcing Judge Ayman al-Werdani and Judge Ahmed Yehia into retirement for taking part in political activity, a judicial source said Monday.

Al-Werdani has been accused of joining a pro-Morsi protest camp in eastern Cairo's Rabaa al-Adawiya Square last year. The camp was ultimately dispersed by security forces, leaving hundreds of protesters dead.

Yehia, too, has been accused of involvement in political activities and joining the pro-Morsi "Judges for Egypt" bloc.

Last week, a judicial panel upheld a decision to force Morsi-era prosecutor-general Talaat Abdullah into retirement on charges that he planted recording devices in offices to eavesdrop on his successors.

Following Morsi's ouster by the military almost 15 months ago, the Egyptian authorities have launched a wide-ranging crackdown on members and supporters of his Muslim Brotherhood group.