CAIRO, Oct. 22 (UPI) — An Egyptian appeals court upheld a 20-year prison sentence Saturday for ousted President Mohamed Morsi, convicted of inciting violence during a 2012 demonstration.
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. The court also upheld verdicts against eight co-defendants, including seven who received the same sentence.
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.
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