Egyptian authorities announced a new round of charges against ousted President Mohamad Morsi Wednesday, meaning the former leader will stand trial for treason, espionage, and conspiring with foreign organizations to commit terrorist acts. The latest charges against Morsi, who is currently in prison and on trial for murder and inciting violence, are far more serious and mean, if convicted, Morsi could face the death penalty.
Egypt’s prosecutor general, in a statement, accused “Morsi and his top aides of sharing state secrets with Iran, with which Egypt has no diplomatic relations, and of spying on Egypt for the Palestinian militant group Hamas and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah,” the Washington Post reports. Prosecutors in the case, the BBC reports, describe Morsi’s crimes as “the biggest case of conspiracy in the country’s history.” Thirty-five others associated with Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood face similar charges. Lawyers for the Muslim Brotherhood have previously criticized the charges against Morsi as being politically motivated.
