Morsi trial in Egypt set for Nov 4

Ousted president Mohamed Morsi, who is charged over the killings of protesters, will stand trial before a Cairo district court on November 4.

Ousted Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi

Mohamed Morsi. (AAP)

An Egyptian court has set November 4 for the trial of Mohamed Morsi for inciting the murder of protesters, a move likely to further anger the ousted Islamist president's supporters.

The news comes as US officials say Washington is poised to stop delivery of major weapons to Egypt because of the widespread crackdown on Morsi's supporters since the Islamist president was ousted in a July 3 coup.

Morsi and 14 others are charged over the killings of protesters outside his palace last December, the official MENA news agency reports.

Prosecutors have charged Morsi, who has been held incomunicado since the July 3 coup, with "inciting his supporters to commit premeditated murder" during December 5 clashes outside his palace.

He will stand trial before a Cairo district court, MENA reported.

The December fighting erupted when Muslim Brotherhood supporters of the president dispersed a sit-in outside the palace by people angered over Morsi issuing a decree placing his decisions beyond judicial review.

Seven people were killed.

The Brotherhood claimed that most of those killed were Islamists, an assertion disputed by his opponents. At least one of the victims was an anti-Morsi journalist.

The co-defendants include several of the former president's aides and Brotherhood leaders, also in jail or on the run.

Following the coup, security forces launched an extensive crackdown on Islamists that has killed more than 1000 people.

In September, a court banned the Brotherhood and ordered its assets seized, and there have been mass arrests of its members.

And on Wednesday, the cabinet ordered the dissolution of a non-governmental organisation linked to the Brotherhood, state media reported.

For weeks now, Morsi supporters have been taking to the streets to demand his release and his reinstatement.

Clashes with security forces and their civilian backers on Sunday killed 57 people.

Meanwhile, US officials on Wednesday said that Washington was poised to hold up the delivery of major weapons to Egypt, including Apache helicopters, F-16 fighter jets and M1A1 Abrams tanks over the crackdown.

The White House did not confirm it would scale back assistance to Cairo, but said it would not cut off all aid, which amounts to $US1.5 billion ($A1.60 billion) annually, most of it in military hardware and training.


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Source: AAP

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