Morsi Espionage Trial To Begin Next Month

Some of the charges carry the death penalty

An Egyptian court on Tuesday set Feb. 16 as the start date for one of the multiple trials of ousted Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, this one on charges of conspiring with foreign groups.

Egypt's prosecutor general has charged Morsi and other top Muslim Brotherhood leaders with conspiring with militant groups such as the Palestinian Hamas and the Lebanese Hezbollah, as well as with Iran, to destabilize Egypt. Morsi is also accused of orchestrating an insurgency in the Sinai Peninsula to avenge his ouster.

Morsi's supporters have called the conspiracy accusations implausible. Morsi was ousted in a military coup last July after millions took to the streets demanding his removal, nearly a year after he became Egypt's first freely elected president.