Channels

Photo: Associated Press
Morsi in prison. (Photo: Associated Press)
Photo: Associated Press

Court sentences Egypt's ousted president Morsi to death

Ousted President Mohammed Morsi sentenced to death over his role in a mass prison break in 2011 uprising that overtook then president Hosni Mubarak.

An Egyptian court on Saturday sentenced ousted President Mohammed Morsi to death over his part in a mass prison break that took place during the 2011 uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak.

 

 

As is customary in passing capital punishment, Judge Shaaban el-Shami referred his death sentence on Morsi and others to the nation's top Muslim theologian, or mufti, for his non-binding opinion. He set June 2 for the next hearing.

 

Muslim Brotherhood and Morsi supporters in Egypt. (Photo: Reuters) (Photo: Reuters)
Muslim Brotherhood and Morsi supporters in Egypt. (Photo: Reuters)

 

Morsi, Egypt's first freely elected president, was ousted by the military in July 2013 following days of mass street protests by Egyptians demanding that he be removed because of his divisive policies.

 

The ousted leader already is serving a 20-year sentence following his conviction on April 21 on charges linked to the killing of protesters outside a Cairo presidential palace in December 2012.

 

Morsi escaped a death sentence in a separate case before el-Shami related to allegations that Morsi, several of his aides and leaders of his now-outlawed Muslim Brotherhood allegedly passed state secrets to foreign groups, including the Palestinian militant Hamas group and Lebanon's Hezbollah, during his one year in office.

 

A total of 16 senior Brotherhood leaders and aides were sentenced to death by el-Shami in that case. A verdict on Morsi's role in that case will be announced in the June 2 hearing.

 

Even if confirmed by the mufti, Saturday's death sentences still can be appealed.

 

Amnesty International on Saturday called the Egyptian court's decision to seek the death penalty for Morsi "a charade based on null and void procedures" and demanded his release or retrial in a civilian court.

 


פרסום ראשון: 05.16.15, 13:23
 new comment
Warning:
This will delete your current comment