Egypt court to examine ex-president Morsi appeals

An Egyptian court will begin examining two appeals in October filed by former Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, his lawyer and a judicial official told AFP on Thursday.

Morsi, Egypt's first democratically elected president who was overthrown in July 2013 by then-army chief, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, has been convicted of numerous charges in four trials.

He was sentenced to death in June 2015 along with other defendants over mass prison breaks and attacks against the police during the 2011 uprising which toppled longtime ruler Hosni Mubarak.

The Court of Cassation -- Egypt's top appeals court -- will begin examining this ruling on October 18, a judicial official told AFP.

In April 2015, Morsi was sentenced to 20 years in prison for his role in violence against protesters during his one year in power. The court will examine this conviction on October 8.

Morsi's lawyer, Abdel Moneim Abdel Maksoud said the court will only look into the cases of "all the defendants who are in custody" and not those who were convicted in absentia.

"We don't know if the court will issue its decision on the same day," said Abdel Maksoud.

Even if Morsi's appeals are successful he will be tried again in a new court on the same charges.

In his latest conviction, a court sentenced Morsi last month to life in prison for leading an unlawful organisation -- his now-blacklisted Muslim Brotherhood -- and 15 years for having "stolen secret documents concerning state security," his lawyer said.

He was sentenced to life in prison last year for "espionage" on behalf of Iran and other countries, as well as militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah.

Courts have since sentenced hundreds of Islamists to death, including other Muslim Brotherhood leaders, though many have appealed and been granted new trials.

Hundreds of Morsi supporters were killed during protests following his ouster. Thousands of others were detained in a crackdown that was later expanded to include leftist and liberal dissidents.

Source: AFP