Egypt upholds 20-year jail term for ex-president Morsi

By Sayed Fathi

CAIRO (AA) – An Egyptian court on Saturday upheld a 20-year jail term for former president Mohamed Morsi for violence charges, according to a judicial source.

In April 2015, Morsi and several co-defendants were sentenced to 20 years in prison each in connection with deadly clashes outside the Ittihadiya presidential palace in eastern Cairo in 2012.

The Court of Cassation, Egypt’s highest appellate court, however, on Saturday rejected an appeal filed by Morsi and his co-defendants against their jail terms and upheld the verdict, the source said.

While a total of 11 people – including eight Morsi supporters – were killed in the clashes, the trial only addressed the death of one reporter and two anti-Morsi protesters.

Saturday’s verdict is final and cannot be appealed by court. It, however, can still be overturned by a presidential pardon.

Morsi, Egypt's first democratically elected leader, was ousted by the military in a 2013 coup – after only one year in office – following protests against his presidency.

The ousted president was slapped with death and life sentences for jailbreak and espionage charges. He is also standing trial on charges of offending the judiciary.

Morsi, along with all of his co-defendants, insists that the charges are politically motivated.