Egyptian courts uphold 20 year sentence against former president Morsi

Published October 23rd, 2016 - 07:00 GMT
Egypt's deposed president Morsi sits behind the defendants cage during a court trial in Cairo on November 5, 2014. (AFP/File)
Egypt's deposed president Morsi sits behind the defendants cage during a court trial in Cairo on November 5, 2014. (AFP/File)

Egypt's Court of Cassation upheld on Saturday a 20 year sentence against former president Mohamed Morsi and 12 other Muslim Brotherhood leaders in case dubbed as presidential palace clashes.

The verdict is final and cannot be appealed.

The defendants were convicted of detaining, torturing and inciting violence against protesters outside the Ittihadiya presidential palace during his tenure in December 2012.

Back then, clashes erupted between Morsi supporters and anti-Morsi protesters outside the presidential palace in Cairo, leaving at least 10 killed.Protesters were holding a sit-in against a constitutional declaration issued by Morsi in November, criticised for giving him sweeping powers.

Since his ouster, Mursi was featured in several trials where he faced an array of charges including espionage charges, insulting the judiciary and escaping prison during the January 2011 Uprising.

Morsi, who became Egypt's president in June 2012 after the first democratic elections in the country, was eventually ousted at the hands of the military following mass protests against his rule, after a year in power.

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