The judges presiding over the trial of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood leaders have stepped down from the proceedings, citing "uneasiness" over the trial as the defence lawyers said the panel had come under pressure to hold the trial inside a prison. Judge Mohammed el-Qarmouti from the three-judge panel at the Cairo Criminal Court announced the decision to step down on Tuesday, just before the second session in the trial was to convene.

"We step down in both cases and we are sending the cases back to the head of the appeal court. The head of the appeal court will assign these cases to another court. Meanwhile, the defendants remain imprisoned," el-Qarmouti said. The move forces the trial of 35 Brotherhood figures, including the group's top leader Mohammed Badie, to start all over again, though Tuesday was only its second session.

Read more on Al Jazeera