CAIRO – An Egyptian court has upheld a 20-year prison sentence for ousted president Mohamed Morsi, convicted of inciting violence during a 2012 demonstration.
The court also upheld verdicts against eight co-defendants, including seven who received the same sentence, the Aljazeera reported.
The decision by the Court of Cassation, Egypt’s highest appellate court, is final and cannot be further appealed, but it can be overturned by a presidential pardon.
Morsi was sentenced in April 2015 for inciting violence against protesters who had staged a sit-in outside the presidential palace in 2012. A total of 11 people, including eight Morsi supporters, were killed in the clash.
Other defendants in the case included Asad al-Shikha, Morsi’s former deputy chief of staff; Ahmed Abdel Atty, the former head of the president’s office; and Mohamed El-Beltagy, a leading member of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Morsi was ousted from office by the military in 2013, after one year in office. Morsi is also appealing a death sentence handed down following the violent Arab Spring uprising that began in 2010. Morsi said all the charges against him are politically motivated.
