(MENAFN- Daily News Egypt) The Cairo Criminal Court sentenced Tuesday former president Mohamed Morsi and five others to death on charges of participating storming into Egyptian prisons, attacking police facilities, and killing security personnel.
The court accused Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood of collaborating with the Palestinian group Hamas, Lebanon's Hezbollah, and a militant member of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.
This is the first death sentence for the Islamist former president, who was ousted by the armed forces in July 2013.
He is expected to show up in the red uniform, which is often given to defendants on death row, in the upcoming 'espionage with Qatar' trial session.
Among the defendants who received death sentences are former parliamentary speaker Saad Al-Katatni and Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) Vice Chairman Essam El-Erian.
A total of 80 others, some of whom have Palestinian nationality, received death sentences in absentia.
Earlier on Tuesday in the espionage trial, the court cancelled the death sentence against Morsi, and ordered life sentences instead.
A total of 16 other defendants, including Muslim Brotherhood Supreme Guide Mohamed Badie, former Al-Katatni, received life sentence in the same case. This is the second death sentence for Badie.
In addition, leading Brotherhood members Khairat El-Shater, Mohamed Al-Beltagy, and Ahmed Abdel Aaty received death sentences, while another were sentenced to seven years.
The court also ratified the death sentence against 11 defendants in absentia. The court had previously referred the files of the defendants to the Grand Mufti for consultation.
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