Egypt's ex-president Morsi sentenced to 20 years over protester deaths

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A court in Egypt has sentenced former President Mohammed Morsi to 20 years in prison over the killing of protesters while he was still in power.

It is the first ruling he has faced since his ousting and is one of several upcoming trials he faces.

Mr Morsi was deposed by the army in July 2013 following mass street protests against his rule.

Since then, the authorities have banned his Muslim Brotherhood party and arrested thousands of his supporters.

Mr Morsi and several other Muslim Brotherhood leaders were accused of inciting supporters to kill a journalist and opposition protesters in clashes outside the presidential palace in late 2012.

Morsi was convicted of inciting the killing of protesters

Morsi's trials

This court case is one of several upcoming trials Mr Morsi faces. They include:

Colluding with foreign militants in a plot to free Islamists in mass prison breaks during the 2011 uprising against Hosni Mubarak
Espionage and conspiring to commit terrorist acts in Egypt with the Palestinian movement Hamas, Lebanon's Hezbollah and Iran's Revolutionary Guards
Endangering national security by leaking state secrets and sensitive documents to Qatar via the Doha-based Al Jazeera network

What's become of Egypt's Morsi?

Mr Morsi was toppled by the army after mass street protests against his rule

As crowds grew outside the palace, Mr Morsi ordered the police to disperse them.

They refused, so the Muslim Brotherhood brought in their own supporters. Eleven people died in the ensuing clashes, mostly from the Brotherhood.

Ahead of the verdict, the Brotherhood accused one-time army chief and now President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi of using the judiciary "as a weapon".

Mr Morsi himself has rejected the authority of the courts, shouting during his first trial that he was the victim of a military coup.

On Monday, a court sentenced 22 Muslim Brotherhood supporters to death for an attack on a police station in Cairo, part of an ongoing crackdown against the Brotherhood.

BBC