Egypt ex-president seeks to have death sentence overturned

Tuesday, 21 July 2015 7:03 AM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 21 July 2015 8:09 AM ]

Egypt’s ousted President Mohamed Morsi, wearing a red uniform, stands behind bars during his trial in Cairo, Egypt, June 21, 2015. (© AFP)

Egypt’s ousted President Mohamed Morsi is set to appeal the death sentence handed down to him for allegedly plotting jailbreaks and attacks on police during the country’s 2011 revolution, Press TV reports.

Mohammad al-Damaty, a member of Morsi’s legal team, said on Monday that the defense team is preparing to appeal in the Court of Cassation against the death sentence, and that former presidential candidate Mohammad Salim al-Awa, also a member of the team, is in the process of drafting the text of the appeal.

Damaty further said that Morsi still considers himself the legitimate president of Egypt, insisting that his trial is beyond the jurisdiction of the Cairo Criminal Court.

Morsi, Egypt’s first democratically elected president, along with 105 others were sentenced to death in May for a mass prison break in 2011 during the country’s popular uprising that led to the overthrow of long-time dictator Hosni Mubarak.

He has already appealed a 20-year prison term handed down to him on April 21 on charges of involvement in the arrests and torture of protesters during his one-year rule, which came to an end by a military coup led by the former army chief and current President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in July 2013.

The Cairo Criminal Court will resume on Tuesday the trial of Morsi and 10 other members of Egypt’s main opposition group, the Muslim Brotherhood, on espionage charges.

The former Egyptian president will also stand trial on charges of insulting the judiciary on July 27.

Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Badie (center bottom) gestures from behind the defendant’s cage as he attends his trial, along with ousted President Mohamed Morsi (not seen), in Cairo, June 16, 2015. (© AFP)

Since the 2013 ouster of Morsi, the military-backed government in Cairo has launched a heavy-handed crackdown on the supporters of Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood movement. The clampdown has led to the death of more than 1,400 people and the arrest of 22,000 others.

Muslim Brotherhood supporters continue to stage protests in different parts of Egypt to condemn what they call the illegal ouster of Morsi and the government’s heavy-handed crackdown on his supporters.

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