Morsi Attends Trial in a Glass Cage of Silence

Since the chaos of the first trial of deposed Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi in early November, in which Morsi loudly accused the judge of covering up an illegal military coup as the courtroom erupted into a shoe-throwing melee, Egypt’s military-backed government has taken no chances.

The latest session was originally scheduled for January 8th, but was cancelled due to “bad weather,” despite clear skies. Today when Morsi was finally brought to the courtroom, he appeared in a specially designed soundproof glass cage. Although caging defendants in a courtroom is a common practice in many countries, The New York Times reports that the sophistication of this particular cage is unprecedented in Egypt. Morsi and his alleged conspirators are accused of working with foreign militant movements to break into prisons in 2011 to free then-imprisoned Morsi, as well as inciting murder. The maximum penalty for his alleged crime is a death penalty or a life sentence in jail. 

Mohamed Morsi was a leading member of Egypt’s repressed Muslim Brotherhood for many years. In 2011, he was briefly imprisoned for his political views, but escaped soon after. In 2012 Morsi was elected President of Egypt in what were widely recognized to be relatively free and fair elections. Just one year later, a so-called “Second Egyptian Revolution” involving millions of protesters was prompted by what was perceived to be Mohamed Morsi’s increasingly authoritarian behavior. Egypt’s military then intervened ostensibly on behalf of the people’s demands and removed and imprisoned Morsi in a military coup. Since then, the military has suspended the constitution and outlawed the Muslim Brotherhood, provoking further unrest throughout the country.

This latest development in Egypt’s political drama demonstrates the lengths to which the government is going to in order to silence dissent, particularly from the Muslim Brotherhood. The increasingly popular General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi (promoted to Field Marshal yesterday), Morsi’s former defense minister who played a lead role in ousting Morsi in 2013, is particularly anxious to move past the Morsi era. Yesterday he announced that he would be running for President in the next elections. At a meeting of top Egyptian generals, the Supreme Council of Armed forces called Sisi’s campaign “an obligation” to the people and the spirit of the revolution. 

For more on the practice of caging defendants in court, read here.