An Egyptian court adjourned to Thursday the trial on conspiracy charges of deposed president Mohammed Morsi and 35 other Islamists after defense lawyers asked the judges to recuse themselves. Prosecutors charge that Morsi and 35 other Islamists, including key leaders in the Muslim Brotherhood, agreed with the Palestinian Hamas and Lebanese Hezbollah movements to carry out terrorist operations that would "create chaos to bring down the Egyptian state and its institutions." They are also accused of involvement in smuggling arms into Egypt and disclosing state information that harmed the country's independence. On Sunday, lawyers for two of the defendants asked the judges to recuse themselves, saying there was "an appearance of animosity" between the bench and their clients after a similar request was made in a related trial on Saturday. A court-appointed lawyer for Morsi also asked for records on the former president's arrest and imprisonment. Morsi, who became Egypt's first democratically elected president in June 2012 but was overthrown by the army following mass protests a year later, was held in a secret location by the armed forces until his trial on separate charges of inciting violence against protesters began in November. The former president has refused to appoint a defense team, engaging a prominent Islamist lawyer but mandating him only to argue that Morsi remains the legitimate president of Egypt and can only be tried before a special court specified in the constitution for the purpose.