One Egyptian appeal court has overturned the death sentence given against ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in one of four trials since his 2013 overthrow. The decision is a first victory for the 65-year-old who has been convicted and sentenced in all cases against him since being toppled by then army chief and now President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi following mass street protests.
Since 2013 his Muslim Brotherhood movement has since been blacklisted and subjected to a crackdown that has killed hundreds of his supporters and jailed thousands. Morsi has been wearing the red uniform reserved for prisoners on death row after being condemned to death in June last year over a 2011 prison break.
Tuesday’s ruling by the court of cassation means Morsi is no longer under threat of execution, although he is serving three long jail sentences. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison without parole on charges arising from the killing of protesters in December 2012; 40 years on charges of spying for Qatar; and a life sentence on charges of spying for the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.
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