An Egyptian judge has adjourned the trial of the country's first democratically-elected president, Mohamed Morsi, as his supporters protested outside the courthouse.

In his first public appearance four months after the Egyptian military toppled him, Morsi appeared at the courthouse in the police academy on Monday.

The key trial was suspended right after its opening. The trial of Morsi and his co-defendants has been scheduled for January 8.

The decision came after the defendants began chanting slogans against the army, saying that they didn't recognize the authority of the court.

Morsi is reported to have said that he is the legitimate president of Egypt, calling on the court 'to end this farce'.

"I am Dr. Mohamed Morsi, the president of the republic.... This court is illegal," Morsi told the opening hearing of his trial, adding, "This was a military coup. The leaders of the coup should be tried. A coup is treason and a crime."


Morsi, and 14 Muslim Brotherhood members are accused of inciting violence which left 10 protesters dead. The Muslim Brotherhood has called the charges fabricated.

Security is currently tight in Egypt with some 20,000 policemen deployed to the streets.

Brotherhood’s supporters are demonstrating in several cities and outside the venue of the trial. Reports say dozens of protesters have already been arrested.

On Friday, tens of thousands of people took to the streets across the country to oppose Morsi's trial, demanding the reinstatement of the country’s first democratically-elected president.

They also demanded justice for Muslim Brotherhood supporters killed in the army crackdown following Morsi’s ouster.

A large number of Brotherhood’s officials and supporters have been held in custody by the military and police forces over the past few months, as hundreds of supporters of the group have been killed in clashes with the army during the same period.