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Another Egyptian president on trial

A dangerous and profound rift in Egypt will not be healed soon.
Remnants of a poster of ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi are pictured on a wall on a street in Cairo August 25, 2013. Egypt's army-backed government shortened a night-time curfew by two hours on Saturday, 10 days after imposing it during a fierce crackdown on Muslim Brotherhood protesters in Cairo. Authorities imposed the curfew on August 14 when police destroyed Brotherhood protest camps in Cairo set up to demand the reinstatement of Mursi. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS TPX IMAGES O

CAIRO — Several months ago, sometime after the volcanic period that began in November, which witnessed Mohammed Morsi declaring himself Egypt's omnipotent ruler, the referendum on the constitution, the beginning of mounting violence and anger, fierce political confrontation, and a raging fire of societal division that ensued, I remember seeing a peculiar yet highly expected photoshopped image at the time. It was an image with Morsi’s face cropped over a famous photograph of Hosni Mubarak behind bars during his trial. The image looked quite real at first glance. After being taken aback for a millisecond, I then realized what was before me. The person who posted the photo declared: “2013 year won’t end before this man is behind bars.” He had no doubt whatsoever, and I obviously had all the doubt in the world. But it looks like, well, Egypt continues to be a country where the unlikely is more likely.

With the exception of a (well-timed) barely intelligible video a couple of days ago of the former president in detention, one that the Egyptian paper Al-Watan says it obtained through its own work rather than a leak, the trial footage was the first time the public had seen Morsi since July 3. It was all sanctioned footage, unlike the original live broadcast of the beginnings of the Mubarak trial. The man slowly exited the nondescript white van he was transported in, looked composed and smiling, took sometime adjusting his dark suit jacket and buttoning it up, and the guards around him gave him time. In the courthouse, Morsi, as expected, proclaimed himself still the legitimate president, refused to acknowledge any legality to the trial and validity to the entire present political order. He eventually made the famous Rabaa sign to his supporters and the legal team, which seemed to reinvigorate his supporters. The other side chanted in anger, and reportedly some loudly called for the death penalty. The session ended as Morsi refused to wear the white jumpsuit that prisoners wear during trial and detention. Eventually, the trial was adjourned to January, suggesting that these might be quite the long proceedings like the Mubarak case, and Morsi was then moved to the prison where he now wears that white jumpsuit. 

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