Judge Mostafa Hassan Abdallah adjourned the trial of the suspects in the "Battle of the Camel" case after only three minutes on Sunday due to overcrowding and lawyers' angry chants. The trial should resume on Monday.
The defendants objected to the fact that some suspects in the case had been released pending investigations while they remain incarcerated.
Some lawyers submitted an official request that the trial be held at the Police Academy instead of in Cairo's Fifth Settlement neighborhood.
The suspects are charged with assaulting peaceful protesters in Tahrir Square on 2 and 3 February 2011 during the popular uprising that ousted Hosni Mubarak from power.
The attack was led by camel and horse riders, hence the name the Battle of the Camel.
Twenty-four suspects stand trial in the case, including former People's Assembly Speaker Fathi Sorour, former Shura Council Speaker Safwat al-Sherif, former Manpower Minister Aisha Abdel Hady and former head of the Egyptian Federation of Trade Unions Hussein Megawer.
Mortada Mansour, a lawyer who is also charged in the case, did not show up for the trial because he is submitting his candidacy papers for the presidency today.
Mansour had asked to for the judge presiding over the case to be replaced, a request which will be examined on 14 April.
Translated from Al-Masry Al-Youm
