Egyptian court to review appeals by former president Morsi

The Egyptian Supreme Court in October will begin reviewing appeals by former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi against two of his convictions.

Deposed by former army chief and current president Abdel Fattah al-Sissi in 2013, Mohamed Morsi was sentenced to death in June 2015, with a hundred co-defendants for mass escape from prison and attacks against the police during the 2011 uprising that ousted Hosni Mubarak from power.

The hearing of his appeal against the verdict will begin October 18, an official of the Appeals Court told AFP.

In April 2015, Morsi was also sentenced to 20 years in prison for violence against opposition demonstrators while he was president. The appeal will be considered on October 8, the official said.

Counsel for Morsi, Abdel Moneim Abdel Maqsud, confirmed the two dates. “It is unclear whether the Court will decide the same day or may adjourn,” he said.

If these appeals are accepted, the two cases will be brought before a new tribunal.

Since his dismissal, Mohamed Morsi was sentenced in four trials. His last conviction was in June 18 in a trial for espionage. He was sentenced to life imprisonment for “stealing secret documents concerning state security and delivering them to Qatar through intermediaries”.

In 2015, he had already been sentenced to life in prison in a trial for espionage, this time in favour of Iran, the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas and the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah.