CAIRO (Reuters) - Ousted Egyptian leader Mohamed Mursi struck a defiant tone on the first day of his trial on Monday, chanting 'Down with military rule', and calling himself the country's only 'legitimate' president.
Mursi, an Islamist who was toppled by the army in July after mass protests against him, appeared angry and interrupted the session repeatedly, prompting a judge eventually to adjourn the trial, which barely got underway, to January 8.
Opponents of Egypt's army-backed government say the trial is part of a campaign to crush Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood movement and revive a police state reminiscent of Hosni Mubarak's three- decades of autocratic rule that ended in a 2011 popular revolt.
Mursi, 62, who broke out of jail in Mubarak's final days in power, found himself behind bars again facing charges of inciting violence that could carry the death penalty.

Hundreds of his supporters gathered outside the court building. One sign read "The will of the people has been raped", a reference to the army takeover.
The Brotherhood had won every election since Mubarak's fall and eventually propelled Mursi into power after the Islamist movement endured repression under one dictator after another.
But millions of Egyptians who grew disillusioned with Mursi's troubled one-year rule took to the streets this summer to demand his resignation. They accused Mursi of usurping power and mismanaging the economy, allegations he denied.
"We didn't see as much misery in the 30 years of Mubarak as much as we saw in one year of Mursi," said Ali, a driver who was sipping morning tea at a cafe in downtown Cairo.
"He fooled us with his year in power."
The army, saying it was responding to the will of the people, deposed Mursi and announced a political road map it said would lead to free and fair elections.
But the promises have not reassured Western allies, who had hoped the military men's grip on power would be broken.
Security forces have killed hundreds of Islamists and arrested thousands, including the Brotherhood's top leaders.
Army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who toppled Mursi, is very popular. Few doubt his victory if he runs for president.
The Brotherhood maintains Mursi's removal was a coup that reversed the democratic gains made after Mubarak's overthrow.
"It is clear that the goal of this trial as well as any action against the Muslim Brotherhood is to wipe out the group as well as any Islamist movements from political life," said Mohamed Damaty, a volunteer defense lawyer for Mursi.
Egyptian officials admit the path to democracy has been rocky, but say a proper political transformation will take time.
(Additional reporting by Hadeel al-Shalchi and Asma; Writing by Yara Bayoumy; Editing by Michael Georgy and Giles Elgood)