Egypt slaps Muslim Brotherhood leader with life sentence

An Egyptian court handed life sentences to businessman and the leader of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan Malik, along with six others who were convicted of terrorism offences.

The charges included leading the Muslim Brotherhood - which is outcasted as a terrorist organisation in Egypt - and supporting it financially. They were also charged for taking actions aimed at "hurting the economy", based on a search of Malik’s home in which Muslim Brotherhood documents were found.

The documents allegedly outlined plots against the state, a judicial source told Reuters.

The documents reportedly outlined plans to damage Egypt’s economy by manipulating the value of the Egyptian pound against the dollar, according to the judicial source.

The source added the documents described plans to attack Egyptian military personnel and tourists and that they endorsed the use of violence to overthrow the government.

Among those handed life sentences were Malik’s son Hamza.

The Brotherhood, an Islamist movement with support across the Middle East, was designated a terrorist organisation by Egypt following the overthrow of the country's first democratically-elected president in 2013.

Critics and observers have slammed the designation as a deliberate attempt to curb opposition to Sisi, who led the 2013 military coup against Mohamed Morsi.