(MENAFN- The Journal Of Turkish Weekly) The Istanbul-based justice group International Rabaa Platform has slammed the sentencing of ousted President Mohamed Morsi to 20 years in jail by an Egyptian court on violence-related charges.
The coordinator of the platform of volunteers, Cihan Isbilir, said in a written statement the verdict announced on Tuesday against Morsi - the first since he was removed from power and imprisoned by the Egyptian army in mid-2013 - was "illegal".
Isbilir said: "The sentencing is an attempt to oppress the pro-democracy people."
"Western and Islamic countries supporting the government will be at least as responsible as the government for the illegal decision."
Isbilir said the decision would cause the peace and stability of the region to drift into an "endless" spiral of violence adding that, despite 657 days passing since the military coup in Egypt, the government had failed to gain legitimacy and control the streets.
'Execution rooms'
Morsi, Egypt's first freely elected president, was earlier found guilty of inciting the murder of demonstrators outside Cairo's Ittihadiya presidential palace in 2012.
Since being removed from power, he has been slapped with numerous criminal charges, which he and his supporters insist are politically motivated.
Isbilir said Egypt had no legal system which produced justice and the courthouses had been turned into execution rooms by the Egyptian government.
Although a total of 11 people € including eight Morsi supporters € were killed in the violence in 2012, the trial only addressed the death of a reporter and two anti-Morsi demonstrators.
Morsi was ousted by the military in July of 2013 € after only one year in office € following protests against his presidency.
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