Morsi supporters gather outside Egypt's top court

Morsi supporters gather outside Egypt's top court

Egypt: Opposition leaders protest against President Morsi

CAIRO: Hundreds of supporters of PresidentMohamed Morsi gathered outside Egypt's Supreme Constitutional Court on Sunday, ahead of ruling on the legality of a panel that drafted a controversial new charter. 

The Islamists, many wrapped in blankets and carrying posters of Morsi, had spent the night outside the courthouse in a bid to prevent its judges from entering, one protester told AFP. 

The court's judges are expected to deliver a verdict on the legality of the Islamist-dominated constituent assembly which drafted the constitution, defying a presidential decree barring any judicial body from dissolving the panel. 

Their decision to go ahead with the hearing further piles pressure on Morsi, who has been accused by the opposition of taking on dictatorial powers by issuing the decree that they say places his decisions beyond judicial overview. 

The November 22 decree has sparked violent protests and calls for strike and put the Islamist president on a collision course with the judiciary. 

The constitution, which is to be put to a referendum on December 15, has taken centre stage in the country's worst political crisis since Morsi's election in June, squaring Islamist forces against secular-leaning opponents. 

On Saturday, hundreds of thousands of Morsi supporters took to the streets to defend the president, a day after crowds thronged Cairo's Tahrir Square to denounce his decree, highlighting the widening rifts between Egypt's political forces.