Egyptian prosecutors recommend cancellation of life term to Morsi

Egyptian prosecutors today recommended the cancellation of life sentences handed down to former president Mohamed Morsi and Muslim Brotherhood chief Mohamed Badie along with 15 other leaders of the banned group in an espionage case.
The prosecutors in the Court of Cassationalso recommended the cancellation of death sentences handed out to 16 other Muslim Brotherhood members, including top leaders Khyrat el-Sharer and Mohamed el-Beltagy Ahmed Abdel Aty. Thirteen of the 16 were sentenced in absentia.
TheCourt of Cassation will deliver itsfinal verdict in the case on November 22.
The defendants are accused of spying, funding terrorism and disclosing national security secrets.

The decision comes just days after an Egyptian criminal court confirmed a 20-year prison sentence handed out to Morsi for inciting violence during demonstrations in 2012, the first final verdict in a case against the 65-year-old former president.
Eight other defendants were sentenced to prison terms of up to 20 years in the case. Their appeals were refused too.

Morsi is currently in prison over other cases including for escaping from prison during the January 25 Revolution in 2011, insulting the judiciary and handing documents of national security importance to Qatari intelligence through the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera news channel.
The former president has said he does not recongnise the trials he faces.

Morsi, who became Egypt's president in June 2012 after the first democratic elections in the country, was ousted in a military coup after a year in power following mass protests against his rule.