CAIRO // Former Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Tuesday on charges related to the killing of protesters in 2012.
Morsi, a leading figure in the Muslim Brotherhood, was elected in June 2012 but removed a year later after protests by millions of people against his rule.
The court in Cairo convicted him of ordering the arrest and torture of protesters in clashes in 2012. Twelve others were convicted of the same charges and most were jailed for 20 years.
Charges of inciting murder over the deaths of a journalist and two protesters in the December 5, 2012, clashes in Cairo were dropped.
During the violence Morsi’s supporters attacked opposition protesters demanding that he call off a referendum on a constitution drawn up by conservatives. Clashes developed into deadly confrontations overnight that killed at least 10 people.
Morsi, dressed in a white prison uniform and standing in a soundproof cage, raised his fists when the verdict was read out by judge Ahmed Youssef.
The others sentenced included Mohammed El Beltagy and Essam El Erian, also senior figures in the Muslim Brotherhood, which Egypt declared a terrorist organisation in December 2013. Seven of the accused were tried in their absence.
The verdict was the first in a series of trials faced by Morsi.
The conviction and muted reaction following it underscore the dramatic downfall of Morsi and Egypt’s once-powerful Brotherhood.
The group swiftly rose to power in elections after Hosni Mubarak’s 2011 removal from power, only to find themselves imprisoned a year later when millions protested against them for abusing power, and the military overthrew the government.
During Tuesday’s hearing, Morsi and the other accused also raised the four-finger sign symbolising the sit-in at the Rabaah Al Adawiya mosque, where hundreds were killed when security forces dispersed Morsi’s supporters on August 14, 2013.
They also smiled for cameras filming the hearing.
It was a far cry from when the trial began, when Morsi repeatedly shouted to the court: “I am the president of the republic!”
In past sessions, Morsi and most of the accused turned their backs to the court when Judge Youssef played several video recordings of the clashes outside the palace in 2012.
Morsi faces four other trials on charges that vary from undermining national security by conspiring with foreign groups and orchestrating a prison break. Thousands of Brotherhood members are in jail facing a variety of charges, most linking them to violence that followed Morsi’s 2013 overthrow.
Morsi is being held at a high-security prison near Alexandria. Yesterday’s hearing took place amid heavy security, as hundreds of black-clad riot police were deployed at the police academy, backed by armoured vehicles.
Under the government of president Abdel Fattah El Sisi, who as army chief overthrew Morsi, Brotherhood members have faced mass trials that end with mass death sentences, sparking international condemnation.
The crackdown has sparked a fierce backlash from extremist groups, who have claimed a string of deadly attacks on security forces.
Mr El Sisi’s government, however, is popular among many Egyptians tired of political turmoil and seeking stability and economic growth.
From his exile in Turkey’s capital, Istanbul, top Muslim Brotherhood figure Amr Darrag called the ruling “a sad and terrible day in Egyptian history”.
Amnesty International called the case flawed and full of loopholes, and the United States said it was “concerned by these sentences”.
* Agencies
