Egypt court upholds Morsi life sentence

An Egyptian court has upheld a life sentence for former President Mohamed Morsi, who was jailed for allegedly passing on state secrets to Qatar.

MENA

1 min read

The New Arab & agencies

16 September, 2017

Morsi is accused of passing state secrets to Qatar [Getty]

Former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi's life sentence has been upheld which relates to alleged state documents leaked to Qatar, a Cairo court has ruled.

Egypt's court of cassation overthrew a 15-year sentence for Morsi on charges of stealing the documents, handed during the initial sentencing, but upheld the life sentence.

The 25 year sentence was related to charges of leading an illegal organisation, his lawyer Abdel Moneim Abdel Maqsud told AFP.

The court also upheld death sentences for three other defendants, a life sentence and a 15-year sentence for two others.

Morsi was accused of passing state secrets to Qatar - denied by Doha - an ally of Morsi's Islamist government that has denounced his 2013 overthrow by the military.

A clampdown on Morsi supporters and liberal dissidents since his overthrow has seen thousands killed and arrested.