Morsi sentenced to life in espionage trial

Former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood leader who succeeded Hosni Mubarak but was himself ousted from the presidency as well, was handed a 40-year prison sentence on Saturday.

Morsi’s lawyer told AFP that he had been acquitted of spying in this case, but convicted of leading an illegal organisation. Morsi and his secretary, Amin el-Sirafy, each received an additional 15-year sentence for leaking official documents.

The Egyptian criminal court tried Helal’s case in his absence and pronounced the death sentence on him, as he was also charged with spying for Qatar during the Morsi’s regime.

The ministry’s director of information, Ahmed Al Rumaih said that although the ruling is not final, it goes against truth and contains misleading claims which are contrary to the policy of the State of Qatar towards all sister countries, including Egypt.

Qatar and Egypt have traded barbs over Cairo’s death sentence against six people, including two Al Jazeera employees.

Morsi has been sentenced to life and 20 years in prison in two other cases which are under appeal.

The two Al Jazeera journalists were identified as news producer Alaa Sablan and editor Ibrahim Mohammed Hilal. Cairo also maintains that Al-Jazeera’s news coverage of Egypt and elsewhere in the Middle East is biased in favor of militant Islamic groups.

Morsi was toppled by the army in 2013 in response to mass protests against his one-year rule.

Morsi has already been sentenced to death.

Documentary producer Ahmed Afify, EgyptAir cabin crew member Mohammed Keilany and academic Ahmed Ismail were the three other defendants who received the death penalty. The court finalised its verdict on a total of 11 accused after consulting the country’s Grand Mufti Shawqi Allam.

“Al Jazeera believes this is an unjust and politicized sentence that is a part of the ruthless campaign against freedom of speech and expression, in order to muzzle the voice of free press”, it said. They had been sentenced to three years in prison for airing what a court described as “false news” and coverage biased in favor of the Muslim Brotherhood.

According to AP, Amnesty International called the charges “ludicrous” and that the death penalty verdict should be dropped.

The verdicts drew widespread criticism from rights groups.