CAIRO
An Egyptian court on Tuesday sentenced former President Mohamed Morsi and 16 co-defendants to life on espionage charges.
The court also sentenced 16 co-defendants - including 13 in absentia - to death over charges of "conspiring" with Palestinian group Hamas and Lebanon's Hezbollah.
Egyptian authorities accused the defendants of "conspiring" with both groups to carry out "terrorist acts" inside Egypt.
Tuesday’s rulings are still subject to appeal.
In April, Morsi and 12 co-defendants were sentenced to 20 years in prison each on charges of mobilizing supporters to "intimidate, detain and torture" dozens of anti-Morsi protesters during clashes outside eastern Cairo's Ittihadiya presidential palace in December 2012.
Morsi, Egypt's first-ever democratically elected president, was ousted by the military in a 2013 coup, following protests against his presidency.
He currently faces multiple criminal charges, including spying and "offending Egypt's judiciary."
Since Morsi's ouster, Egyptian authorities have launched a relentless crackdown on dissent that has largely targeted Morsi supporters, leaving hundreds dead and thousands behind bars.
