Mohammed Morsi—the Muslim Brotherhood figure elected president of Egypt in 2012 after the Tahrir Square demonstrations helped depose Hosni Mubarak in 2011—has been sentenced to 20 years in prison on charges related to the deaths of several protesters under his regime. Morsi was himself deposed in 2013 by an army coup led by current Egpytian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. From the New York Times:
The case stems from violence outside the presidential palace in December 2012. Morsi’s supporters attacked opposition protesters demanding that Morsi call off a referendum on an Islamist-drafted constitution. Clashes developed into deadly confrontations overnight that killed at least 10 people.
In a statement, Amnesty International called the case flawed and full of loopholes, while describing the trial as “sham.”
From the Guardian:
As the verdicts were read, the defendants shouted, but their words could not be heard because of the thick panes of glass installed after a defiant Morsi declared himself the rightful president during earlier sessions.
Mass trials of Muslim Brotherhood members have become common under Sisi—in one, 183 supporters of the Islamist group were sentenced to death over the killing of 11 police officers, though none of those sentences has been carried out. Other charges are still pending against Morsi, including accusations of “undermining national security by conspiring with foreign groups and orchestrating a prison break.”
