Egypt: Muslim Brotherhood Leader Sentenced to Life over 2013 Violence
Wednesday, 5 December, 2018 - 18:45
Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Badie. (Reuters file photo)
Asharq Al-Awsat
Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Badie and his deputy Khairat al-Shater were sentenced to life by an Egyptian court on Wednesday in a retrial over violence during the overthrow of President Mohammed Morsi in 2013.
Badie and Shater were sentenced to life in 2015 over violence near the group’s headquarters.
The sentence is one among several trials and retrials against Badie, Shater and other leaders of the party.
Four others were also handed life sentences on Wednesday. The Cairo Criminal Court acquitted Saad al-Katatny, parliament speaker under Morsi, along with a former minister, two prominent Brotherhood figures and two others.
The defendants can appeal the ruling for the last time before the Court of Cassation, Egypt’s highest civilian court.
The public prosecution may also appeal the acquittals or the life sentences that two defendants received instead of death sentences.
The defendants faced charges of inciting violence against the demonstrators in front of the Brotherhood headquarters, aggravated battery and the possession of firearms.
Authorities had referred 18 defendants to trial in the case. Five remain at large and one died before receiving a sentence.
The latest retrial began when the Court of Cassation accepted 13 defendants’ appeals in January 2016.
Badie has gotten several death sentences in separate trials since his 2013 arrest. Charges have included inciting violence and planning attacks against the state.
Separately on Wednesday, two security sources and a judicial source said authorities arrested a justice minister under Morsi and are investigating him for belonging to an illegal group.
The security sources said National Security Agency officers arrested Ahmed Suleiman at his home in Minya governorate on Tuesday and later transferred him to Cairo.
Badie and Shater were sentenced to life in 2015 over violence near the group’s headquarters.
The sentence is one among several trials and retrials against Badie, Shater and other leaders of the party.
Four others were also handed life sentences on Wednesday. The Cairo Criminal Court acquitted Saad al-Katatny, parliament speaker under Morsi, along with a former minister, two prominent Brotherhood figures and two others.
The defendants can appeal the ruling for the last time before the Court of Cassation, Egypt’s highest civilian court.
The public prosecution may also appeal the acquittals or the life sentences that two defendants received instead of death sentences.
The defendants faced charges of inciting violence against the demonstrators in front of the Brotherhood headquarters, aggravated battery and the possession of firearms.
Authorities had referred 18 defendants to trial in the case. Five remain at large and one died before receiving a sentence.
The latest retrial began when the Court of Cassation accepted 13 defendants’ appeals in January 2016.
Badie has gotten several death sentences in separate trials since his 2013 arrest. Charges have included inciting violence and planning attacks against the state.
Separately on Wednesday, two security sources and a judicial source said authorities arrested a justice minister under Morsi and are investigating him for belonging to an illegal group.
The security sources said National Security Agency officers arrested Ahmed Suleiman at his home in Minya governorate on Tuesday and later transferred him to Cairo.
