Brotherhood defiant as Mursi handed 20 years
CAIRO: Muslim Brotherhood leader Muhammad Mursi was sentenced to 20 years in prison without parole on Tuesday on charges arising from the killing of protesters, nearly three years after he became Egypt’s president.
Mursi stood in a cage in court as judge Ahmed Sabry Youssef read out the ruling against him and 12 other Brotherhood members, including senior figures Mohamed El-Beltagy and Essam El-Erian. The sentencing was broadcast live on state television.
The men were convicted on charges of violence, kidnapping and torture stemming from the killing of protesters during demonstrations in 2012. They were acquitted of murder charges, which carry the death sentence.
A lawyer for some of the defendants said they would appeal. The rights group called for Mursi to be retried in a civilian court “in line with international standards” or released.
Displaying a four-finger salute symbolizing resistance to the state’s crackdown on the Brotherhood, defendants in a makeshift courtroom on the outskirts of Cairo chanted “God is Greatest” after the verdict was read.
Muslim Brotherhood is rising again under young new leaders despite the sentencing, one of its senior figures said.
Amr Darrag, cofounder of the dissolved Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood, said the movement was about more than one man and had become more revolutionary under a new generation.
“The president, whether in jail or outside, will always be our president ... Many members of the upper leadership are in jail and we still consider them to be our leaders,” Darrag said Istanbul.