Egypt’s Morsi may face death penalty in first verdict

Mohamed Morsi, Egypt’s first democratically elected president, could face the death penalty over a number of charges, including inciting the killing of protesters, nearly two years after his ouster.

The former Egyptian president may be handed the death sentence in the first verdict against him on Tuesday, April 21.

Morsi and 14 other defendants are charged with the killing of three protesters and torturing a number of others during clashes in front of the presidential palace in the capital, Cairo, on December 5, 2012.

This is while defense lawyers say there is no evidence suggesting Morsi had incited the clashes, and that most of those killed were members of his banned Muslim Brotherhood movement.

Morsi also faces the death penalty in other cases, in which he is accused of spying for foreign powers and escaping from prison during the country’s revolution against long-time dictator Hosni Mubarak in 2011. The verdicts for the two other cases are expected on May 16.

On April 15, an Egyptian court in the capital, Cairo, sentenced Refaa el-Tahtawi, a top aide to Morsi, to three years in prison on charges of power abuse.

The move comes as the government of former military ruler and current President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi continues its crackdown on the members and supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood.

The possible death sentence for Morsi comes months after a court dropped murder charges against Mubarak over the killings of hundreds of anti-government protesters in 2011.

Morsi was ousted in July 2013 in a military coup led by Sisi.

The military-backed rulers in Egypt have come under pressure from human rights groups over their harsh crackdown on Muslim Brotherhood members and supporters. The movement has also been blacklisted as a terrorist organization by the military-backed government in Cairo.

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