By Steve Rosenberg
BBC News, Berlin
**The trial of a man accused of stabbing a pregnant Egyptian woman to death inside a German courtroom is due to begin in the city of Dresden.**The defendant, 28-year-old Alex W, had earlier been fined for calling Marwa Sherbini “a terrorist” and “Islamist”.
The defendant is alleged to have smuggled a kitchen knife into an appeal hearing where he killed Ms Sherbini.
The attack in July sparked outrage in the Muslim world, with protests in Egypt, Iran and Turkey.
It had begun with an argument in a playground.
Ms Sherbini took the defendant to court and he was fined 780 euros ($1,170; £718) for defamation.
‘Islamophobia’
But when he returned to court for the appeal, prosecutors say he smuggled a kitchen knife into the courtroom and stabbed Ms Sherbini repeatedly.
The young woman, who was pregnant, bled to death.
Her three-year-old son was with the family in court when she was killed.
Muslim leaders accused Germany of Islamophobia and German officials of being far too slow to react to the killing.
For this murder trial, security is expected to be tight with 200 police securing the courthouse and bullet-proof glass installed in the courtroom.