Death sentence for ousted president Mursi, Egyptian court rules
Judge refers death sentence pronounced on Mursi and others to the nation’s top Muslim theologian, or mufti, who must give his opinion before any execution can be carried out
An Egyptian court on Saturday sentenced ousted president Mohammed Mursi to death over his part in a mass prison break that took place during the 2011 uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak.
As is customary in passing capital punishment, Judge Shaaban el-Shami referred his death sentence on Mursi and others to the nation’s top Muslim theologian, or mufti, for his non-binding opinion. He set June 2 for the next hearing.
Mursi, Egypt’s first freely elected president, was ousted by the military in July 2013 following days of mass street protests by Egyptians demanding he be removed because of his divisive policies. Mursi’s successor, Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi, was the military chief at the time and led the ouster. El-Sisi ran for president last year and won the vote in a landslide.
Also sentenced to death with Mursi in the prison break case were a total of 105 defendants, most of them were tried and convicted in absentia. They include some 70 Palestinians. Those tried in absentia in Egypt receive automatic retrials once detained.
Supporters of Mursi and his now-outlawed Muslim Brotherhood chanted “down, down with military rule” as the verdict was announced in the courtroom, a converted lecture hall in the national police academy in an eastern Cairo suburb.