Middle East

Egypt to issue ruling next month in Morsi 'spy' trial

Egypt's first freely elected president says charges against him are politically motivated

Mohamed Sabry Emam Muhammed  | 23.03.2016 - Update : 24.03.2016
Egypt to issue ruling next month in Morsi 'spy' trial

Egypt

By Sayed Fathi

CAIRO

An Egyptian court on Wednesday set April 23 as the date on which it will deliver a verdict in the trial of former President Mohamed Morsi, who is accused -- among other things -- of having spied for Qatar while in office, a local judicial source told Anadolu Agency.

Morsi, along with 10 co-defendants, stands accused by Egypt’s army-backed authorities of spying for Qatar and leaking classified documents to the small Gulf statelet during his single year as president.

At a Wednesday trial session, Morsi called on his supporters to exercise self-restraint.

Egypt's first democratically elected leader, Morsi was ousted by the military in mid-2013 -- after only one year in office -- following protests against his presidency.

He has since been slapped with life-in-prison and death sentences for "conspiring against Egypt" -- with Palestinian group Hamas and Lebanon’s Hezbollah -- and for breaking out of jail in 2011.

He has also been slapped with a 20-year jail term for allegedly committing murder.

The former president also faces charges of "insulting" Egypt’s judiciary.

Morsi and his co-defendants, along with a number of independent observers, say the charges are politically driven.

Since Morsi's ouster and imprisonment, the Egyptian authorities have launched a harsh crackdown on his Muslim Brotherhood group -- killing hundreds and jailing tens of thousands -- while relations between Cairo and Doha have nosedived.

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