Egypt court overturns life sentence against Mursi in espionage case

Tuesday 22-11-2016 11:46 AM

Former president Mohamed Mursi in court, Aswat Masriya

CAIRO, Nov 22 (Aswat Masriya) – Egypt’s Court of Cassation overturned a life sentence handed down to former president Mohamed Mursi for conspiring with foreign powers including the Palestinian group Hamas, the Middle East News Agency (MENA) reported.

The court also overturned 21 other sentences, including a death sentence handed down to the Muslim Brotherhood’s former supreme guide Mohamed Badie, in the same case.

Other sentences ranged from death sentences to prominent Brotherhood leaders including Mohamed Al-Beltagy and Khairat al-Shater, to seven-year prison sentences.

In June 2015, Mursi and the other defendants were convicted of conspiring against Egypt with foreign powers, including Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.

Last week, the Cassation Court also overturned the death sentences handed down to Mursi and other Muslim Brotherhood figures in the Wadi Natroun prison break case, and ordered a retrial.

The former president came to power in June 2012, only to be deposed by the military following mass protests against his rule a year later.

Since Mursi's ouster, hundreds of Brotherhood members and supporters have been arrested and convicted in court.

Mursi has been charged in several other cases including espionage and insulting the judiciary. An Egyptian court upheld his 20-year prison sentence in October in the case dubbed as the presidential palace clashes.

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