%2B21.jpg "Former Egyptian president Morsi sentenced to death")
Morsi, sitting in a caged dock in the blue uniform of convicts having already been sentenced to 20 years for inciting violence, raised his fists in defiance when the judge read out his verdict.
Among the others sentenced to death were Mohamed Badei, the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood who had already been handed the death penalty in another trial, and his deputy Khairat al-Shater.
Morsi, the country's first democratically elected president, had ruled for only a year before mass protests prompted the military to overthrow him in July 2013.
He and dozens of other Islamist leaders were then detained amid a crackdown that left hundreds of his supporters dead.
Many of those sentenced today were tried in absentia, including prominent Islamic cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi who resides in Qatar.
Under Egyptian law, death sentences are passed on to the mufti, the government's interpreter of Islamic law, who plays an advisory role.
- The defendants can appeal even after the mufti's recommendation. The court will pronounce its final decision on 2 June.
Morsi was spared the death sentence in the first of two trials that concluded today, in which the court advised death sentences for 16 defendants on espionage charges.
They had been charged with colluding with foreign powers, the Palestinian Hamas and Iran to destabilise Egypt.
The court will pronounce the verdicts for Morsi and the remaining 18 defendants in that trial at a later date.
The court then delivered its verdict in the other case, in which Morsi and 128 defendants were accused of plotting jail breaks and attacks on police during the uprising that overthrew president Hosni Mubarak in 2011.
More than 100 were sentenced to death along with Morsi.
Many of the defendants are Palestinians alleged to work with Hamas in neighbouring Gaza, and were tried in absentia along with a Lebanese Hezbollah commander.
They were alleged to have colluded with Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood to carry out attacks in Egypt in what prosecutors allege was a vast conspiracy.
With this verdict, Morsi and other former opposition members have been condemned for violence during the anti-Mubarak uprising, while Mubarak himself beat charges in a trial over the deaths of anti-government protesters during the 18-day revolt that toppled him.
Morsi was in prison when the anti-Mubarak uprising started on 25 January, having been rounded up with other Brotherhood leaders a few days later.
On 28 January, protests fuelled by police abuses targeted torched their stations across Egypt, prompting thousands of prisoners to escape when the police force all but collapsed.
Since Morsi's overthrow, the police force has largely been rehabilitated in public opinion, with government officials and loyal media blaming the Brotherhood and foreigners for the violence of the anti-Mubarak uprising.
The army chief who overthrew Morsi, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, is now president after having won elections last year.
He has pledged to eradicate the Brotherhood, once the largest political movement in the country.
http://www.rte.ie/news/2015/0516/701581-morsi/
16/5/15
--
-
Related:
----
GR
FR
DE
ES
IT
RU
EU
Egypt sentences Mohamed Morsi to death...
ReplyDeleteAn Egypt court has sentenced former President Mohamed Morsi to death for a mass prison break in 2011.
The court ruled on Saturday that the sentencing of Morsi and 105 others will be referred to the Grand Mufti, the highest religious authority in Egypt, for confirmation.
Many of those sentenced were tried in absentia, including Yusuf al-Qaradawi, an influential Islamic scholar based in Qatar.
The court will pronounce its final decision on June 2............http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/05/egypt-sentences-mohammed-morsi-death-150516091845111.html
Statement of the High Representative/Vice president Federica Mogherini on the Court decision against former President Morsi and more than a hundred individuals in Egypt...
ReplyDeleteThe court decision to seek the death penalty for former President Mohamed Morsi and more than 100 of his supporters, in connection with a mass jail break in 2011, was taken at the end of a mass trial that was not in line with Egypt's obligations under international law.
The Egyptian judicial authorities have the responsibility to ensure, in line with international standards, defendants' rights to a fair trial and proper and independent investigations. As the EU, we are confident the sentence will be revised during the appeal process. Stability and rule of law should be guaranteed.
The EU opposes capital punishment under all circumstances. The death penalty is cruel and inhumane, fails to act as a deterrent and represents an unacceptable denial of human dignity and integrity.
http://eeas.europa.eu/statements-eeas/2015/150517_04_en.htm
17/5/15
An Egyptian court sentenced former Islamist President Mohammad Mursi to 25 years in prison on Tuesday in a case related to conspiring with foreign groups.
ReplyDeleteThe general guide of the Muslim Brotherhood Mohamed Badie and Islamist leaders Mohammad al-Katatny and Essam al-Erian were also sentenced to 25 years in jail in the same case. In total, 17 were given life sentences.
The court also sentenced Brotherhood leaders Khairat el-Shater, Mohammad el-Beltagy and Mohammad Abd el-Aaty to death in the same case.
Death sentences were also handed to 13 other defendants in absentia.
These were the final verdicts in two trials of Egypt's ousted president who has already been handed the death penalty for a prison escape and attacks in 2011 as well as spying........... AFP ..... alarabiya.net
16/6/15