Court upholds Morsi’s jail term

Cairo, October 22 

An Egyptian criminal court today confirmed a 20-year prison sentence given to Mohammed Morsi for inciting violence during demonstrations in 2012, in the first final verdict in a case against the former president.

Eight other defendants were sentenced to prison terms of up to 20 years in the case. Their appeals were refused too. In April 2015, a Cairo court had sentenced Morsi to 20 years in prison for inciting violence against protesters who had staged a sit-in outside the Ittihadiya presidential palace in December 2012, when Morsi was still in power.

The then protesters had rallied in front of the palace to peacefully protest Morsi’s decree in which he had ordered that the president shall remain immune from judicial oversight. Clashes erupted outside the palace and 10 people were killed, including journalist el-Husseini Abu Deif, 33. — PTI