CAIRO, Egypt – Egypt’s deposed Islamist President Mohammed Morsi was brought Monday from the secret location of his four-month detention to face trial on charges of incitement of violence and murder.
In his first public appearance since his ouster in a coup on July 3, Morsi tells the judge that he is the country’s “legitimate” leader and that it has no jurisdiction to try him. The proceedings are then adjourned until Jan. 8.
Here are some key events from more than two years of turmoil and transition:
Jan. 25-Feb. 11, 2011 – Egyptians stage nationwide demonstrations against the rule of President Hosni Mubarak. Hundreds of protesters are killed as Mubarak and his allies try to crush the uprising.
Feb. 11 – Mubarak steps down and turns power over to the military. The military dissolves parliament and suspends the constitution, meeting two key demands of protesters.
March 19 – In the first post-Mubarak vote, Egyptians cast ballots on constitutional amendments sponsored by the military. The measures are overwhelmingly approved.
Oct. 9 – Troops crush a protest by Christians in Cairo over a church attack, killing more than 25 protesters.
Nov. 28, 2011-Feb 15, 2012 – Egypt holds multistage, weekslong parliamentary elections. In the lawmaking lower house, the Muslim Brotherhood wins nearly half the seats, and ultraconservative Salafis take another quarter. The remainder goes to liberal, independent and secular politicians. In the largely powerless upper house, Islamists take nearly 90 per cent of the seats.
May 23-24, 2012 – The first round of voting in presidential elections has a field of 13 candidates. Morsi and Ahmed Shafiq, the last prime minister under Mubarak, emerge as the top two finishers, to face each other in a runoff.
June 14 – The Supreme constitutional Court orders the dissolving of the lower house of parliament.
June 16-17 – Egyptians vote in the presidential runoff between Morsi and Shafiq. Morsi wins with 51.7 per cent of the vote.
June 30 – Morsi takes his oath of office.
Aug. 12 – Morsi orders the retirement of the top Mubarak-era leadership of the military.
Nov. 19 – Members of liberal parties and representatives of Egypt’s churches withdraw from the 100-member assembly writing the constitution, protesting attempts by Islamists to impose their will.
Nov. 22 – Morsi unilaterally decrees greater powers for himself, giving his decisions immunity from judicial review and barring the courts from dissolving the constituent assembly and the upper house of parliament. The move sparks days of protests.
Nov. 30 –Islamists in the constituent assembly rush to complete the draft of the constitution. Morsi sets a Dec. 15 date for a referendum.
Dec. 4 – More than 100,000 protesters march on the presidential palace, demanding the cancellation of the referendum and the writing of a new constitution. The next day, Islamists attack an anti-Morsi sit-in, sparking street battles that leave at least 10 dead.
Dec. 15, Dec. 22 – In the two-round referendum, Egyptians approve the constitution, with 63.8 per cent voting in favour. Turnout is low.
Dec. 29 – The Egyptian Central Bank announces that foreign reserves – drained to $15 billion from $36 billion in 2010 – have fallen to a “critical minimum” and tries to stop a sharp slide in the value of the Egyptian pound. It now stands at just over 7 to the dollar, compared to 5.5 to the dollar in 2010.
Jan. 25, 2013 – Hundreds of thousands hold protests against Morsi on the 2-year anniversary of the start of the revolt against Mubarak, and clashes erupt in many places.
Feb.-March 2013 – Protests rage in Port Said and other cities for weeks, with dozens more dying in clashes.
IN PHOTOS: Egyptians torch buildings following court verdict
April 7 – A Muslim mob attacks the main cathedral of the Coptic Orthodox Church as Christians hold a funeral and protest there over four Christians killed in sectarian violence the day before. Pope Tawadros II publicly blames Morsi for failing to protect the building.
May 7 – Morsi reshuffles his Cabinet. Officials say the changes aim to finalize long-stalled negotiations with the International Monetary Fund for a crucial $4.8 billion loan, which requires reductions to fuel and food subsidies. A deal on the loan has still not been reached.
June 23 – A mob beats to death four Egyptian Shiites in a village on the edge of Cairo.
June 30 – Millions of Egyptians demonstrate, calling for Morsi to step down. Eight people are killed in clashes outside the Muslim Brotherhood’s Cairo headquarters.
July 1 – Large-scale demonstrations continue, and Egypt’s powerful military gives the two sides 48 hours to resolve their disputes, or it will impose its own solution.
VIDEO: Egypt’s military issues ultimatum to President Morsi (July 1)
July 2 – Military officials disclose main details of their plan if no agreement is reached: replacing Morsi with an interim administration, cancelling the Islamist-based constitution and calling elections in a year. Morsi delivers a late-night speech in which he pledges to defend his legitimacy and vows not to step down.
VIDEO: Tensions mount in Egypt (July 2)
July 3 – Deadline for Morsi and opponents to come to agreement passes, Morsi standing firm. The military chief met with opposition and religious leaders and sent soldiers to the state TV’s newsroom in what were seen as first steps toward taking power.
VIDEO: Egyptian president overthrown (July 3)
July 4 – Adly Mansour is sworn in as the nation’s interim president, taking over hours after the military ousted the Islamist President Mohammed Morsi.
PROFILE: Who is Egypt’s new interim president Adly Mansour?
July 5 – Adly dissolves the Islamist-dominated upper house of parliament as soldiers open fire on mostly Islamist protesters in Cairo demanding restoration of Morsi, killing at least one person.
July 6 – After an initial announcement that Mansour had named ElBaradei to the key post of prime minister, a spokesman for the interim president backs away, saying consultations are still underway.
July 7 – Secular and liberal factions wrangle with the sole Islamist group that backed Morsi’s ouster over installing a new prime minister, reflecting the difficulties in building a broad coalition behind a new leadership. Morsi’s opponents and supporters stage huge rallies to push their respective causes.
July 8 – Egyptian soldiers open fire on pro-Morsi demonstrators in front of a military base in Cairo, killing more than 50. Each side blames the other for starting the clash near the larger of the two sit-ins, near east Cairo’s Rabaah al-Adawiya mosque. Mansour puts forward a time line for amending the constitution and electing a new president and parliament by mid-February. The Brotherhood refuses to participate in the process.
July 9 – Mansour appoints economist Hazem el-Beblawi as prime minister and opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei as vice-president. A military announcement backs up the appointments.
July 26 – Millions pour into the streets of Egypt after a call by the country’s military chief for protesters to give him a mandate to stop “potential terrorism” by supporters of Morsi. Five people are killed in clashes. Prosecutors announce Morsi is under investigation for a host of allegations including murder and conspiracy with the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
July 27 – Security forces and armed men in civilian clothes clash with Morsi supporters outside the larger of the two major sit-ins in Cairo, killing at least 80 people.
July 30 – The EU’s top diplomat Catherine Ashton holds a two-hour meeting with detained Morsi at an undisclosed location. She is one of a number of international envoys, including U.S. Sens. John McCain and Lindsey Graham, to visit Egypt to attempt to resolve the crisis.
Aug. 7 – Egypt’s presidency says that diplomatic efforts to peacefully resolve the standoff between the country’s military-backed interim leadership and the Muslim Brotherhood have failed.
Aug. 11 – Egyptian security forces announce that they will besiege the two sit-ins within 24 hours to bar people from entering.
Aug. 12 – Authorities postpone plans to take action against the camps, saying they want to avoid bloodshed after Morsi supporters reinforce the sit-ins with thousands more protesters.
Aug. 14 – Riot police clear two sprawling encampments of supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi, sparking running street battles that kill at least 149 people. The presidency declares a monthlong state of emergency across the nation as Vice-President Mohamed ElBaradei resigns in protest over the assaults.
Video: Egyptian state television claims protesters firing live rounds as army clears sit-ins (August 14)
Aug. 15 – The Egyptian Health Ministry once again raises the death toll from yesterday’s clashes between police and supporters of the country’s ousted president. It says the number of people killed has risen to 525, with more than 3,700 injured.
Aug. 16 – Heavy gunfire rings out throughout Cairo as tens of thousands of Muslim Brotherhood supporters clash with armed vigilantes in the fiercest street battles to engulf the capital since the country’s Arab Spring uprising. The clashes kill 173 people nationwide, including police officers.
Aug. 17 – Egyptian authorities announce they are considering disbanding the Muslim Brotherhood group. Meanwhile, security forces raid a mosque in Cairo where protesters supporting the nation’s ousted president had been barricaded inside.
Aug. 18 – Egyptian police fire tear gas in an attempt to free a guard from rioting detainees, killing at least 36. Earlier in the evening, the country’s military leader vowed to tolerate no more violence. Authorities also raided the homes of Brotherhood members in an apparent attempt to disrupt the group ahead of mass rallies they had planned. A government tally says the death toll for four days of unrest across the country had risen to nearly 900 people killed.
Aug. 19 – Egyptian judiciary officials say Mubarak could be freed from custody, on the same day Islamic militants killed 25 off-duty policemen execution-style in the northern Sinai Peninsula.
Aug. 25: Trial begins for Badie and around three dozen other Brotherhood members on charges of inciting the murder of anti-Morsi protesters on June 30.
Sept. 5: Egypt’s interior minister survives a bombing targeting his convoy in Cairo.
Sept. 12: State of emergency is extended for two more months.
Sept 23: An Egyptian court orders the Muslim Brotherhood to be banned and its assets confiscated.
Oct. 6: At least 51 people killed when security forces and Islamist protesters clash during a national holiday celebrating the military.
Oct. 9: The U.S. suspends delivery of tanks, helicopters and fighter jets to Egypt’s military in a show of disapproval over the anti-Brotherhood crackdown.
Oct. 29: Judges in the Badie trial quit the case after security officials refuse to let the defendants attend the courtroom sessions.
READ MORE: Egypt: Morsi’s trial adjourned until Jan. 8
Nov. 4: Morsi is flown by helicopter from his secret detention place to the police academy in eastern Cairo where his trial gets underway. After he refuses to recognize the court and tells the judge he remains the country’s “legitimate president,” proceedings are adjourned until Jan. 8 to allow defence lawyers to review documents.
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