An Egyptian court put ousted Islamist president Mohammed Morsi on trial on Sunday on charges of endangering national security by leaking state secrets and sensitive documents to Qatar, furthering a state crackdown on his outlawed Muslim Brotherhood.

Morsi, who was toppled by the army in 2013 after mass protests against his rule, remained defiant, insisting he was Egypt's legitimate president despite facing several court cases."This court does not represent anything to me," said Morsi, who was on trial with 10 other people. The maximum penalty if convicted is death.