By Fred Onyango/Mike Kirui
An Egyptian court has pronounced
death sentences on ousted president Mohammed Morsi and more than 100 other
people over a mass prison break in 2011.
Morsi is already serving a 20-year
prison term for ordering the arrest and torture of protesters while in power.
Egypt's religious authorities will
now have to give their opinion before the sentence can be carried out.
Morsi's supporters from his Muslim Brotherhood
movement have described the charges against him as "farcical".
He was deposed by the military in
July 2013 following mass street protests against his rule.
Since then, the authorities have
banned the Muslim Brotherhood and arrested thousands of his supporters.
In a separate case on Saturday, an
Egyptian court banned hardcore football fan clubs known as the Ultras, who
played a leading role in protests during the 2011 uprising against
then-president Hosni Mubarak.
Inside the dock, Morsi and members
of his Muslim Brotherhood group chanted, "Down with military rule!"
after the judge read out his ruling against him.
The judge's request for the death
sentence in connection with the jailbreak case was referred to the grand mufti,
a high religious cleric, for ratification.
However, the mufti's recommendation
is not binding. Even if he advises against the death sentence, the judge can
still go ahead with it.
The Brotherhood issued a statement
condemning the sentence and called for an escalation of protests.
But the tight security grip in Egypt
means that it is highly unlikely to see mass demonstrations.
Hundreds of Brotherhood supporters
are already behind bars, while others are keeping a low profile for fear of a
crackdown.
Morsi's supporters took to the
streets in protest after he was given a 20-year jail sentence in April
Morsi raised both fists in defiance
as the sentences were given.
Morsi, who escaped from Wadi Natroun
prison in January 2011, was accused of colluding with foreign militants in a
plot to free Islamists during the mass prison breaks.
Many of his 104 co-defendants were
Palestinians accused of being members of militant group Hamas, and were charged
in absentia.
The court also issued rulings on
another case, sentencing 16 Muslim Brotherhood members, including deputy leader
Khairat al-Shater, to death on spying charges.
Morsi, who also faces espionage
charges, will be issued a verdict in that case at a later date.
Huge crowds gathered in Tahrir
Square to celebrate when the military ousted Mr Morsi
Hundreds of people have been
sentenced to death in a crackdown on the Brotherhood following Morsi's removal
in 2013.
However, it is thought that only one
such death sentence has been carried out so far.
All death sentences must first be
sent to the grand mufti, Egypt's highest religious authority, for his
non-binding opinion on whether they should stand.
Convictions are still open to appeal,
even if the grand mufti gives his approval.
Morsi's supporters have condemned
the cases against him as a political show trial.
Amr Darrag, a former minister in
Morsi's government, described Saturday as "one of the darkest days"
in Egypt's history.
"These latest charges are
another deeply disturbing attempt to permanently erase democracy and the
democratic process in Egypt," he said in a statement.
The death sentence was also
condemned by Amnesty International, which said it had become a tool "to
purge the political opposition", and Turkish President Recep Tayyip
Erdogan, who likened it to a return to "ancient Egypt".
Morsi was Egypt's first freely
elected president, but protests began building less than a year into his rule
when he issued a decree granting himself far-reaching powers.
The armed forces, led by
then-military chief Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, ousted Morsi in July 2013.
In May 2014, Mr Sisi became
president after securing a landslide victory in presidential elections with a
turnout of 46%.
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