Mohamed Morsy went from prison to the presidency. And now he’s going back to prison. The ousted President was convicted on charges of violence and inciting violence and sentenced to 20 years in prison for the torture of protesters outside the presidential palace in December 2012. But he was acquitted of murder in the deaths of protesters.
He stood trial with 14 co-defendants, including some of his presidential staff. All 14 co-defendants were also convicted of violence and inciting violence, and all were also acquitted of murder.
Morsy, who became Egypt‘s first democratically elected President in June 2012, was deposed by a popularly backed military coup in July 2013.
After the sentencing, his Freedom and Justice Party called the trial a “travesty of justice.”
“This is a sad and terrible day in Egyptian history,” the party said in a statement Tuesday. “Coup leaders have sentenced Mohamed Morsi to decades in prison for nothing more than championing the democratic will of the people.”
But Ramy Ghanem, a civil plaintiff lawyer representing one of the torture victims, said the conviction was fair.
“This is a very appropriate and clear verdict on people that committed the crime,” he said. “This, in fact, was the maximum sentence for the charges. The surprise was the acquittal.”