Egypt Upholds Former President Morsi's Death Sentence

An Egyptian court upheld the death sentence for former president Mohammed Morsi Tuesday, though the verdict can still be appealed.

The confirmation of the sentence came after Egypt's Grand Mufti officially approved the death penalty – a traditional requirement in Egypt's legal system. The sentence can still be appealed, and Morsi supporters have argued the charges against the former president are a farce.

Morsi's death sentence stems from charges related to a 2011 mass prison break. The incident occurred during an uprising against Egypt's then-dictator Hosni Mubarak.

Prosecutors claim Morsi plotted with foreign militants to free political allies from the Wadi Natroun prison, and carry out attacks against police officers. Over 100 others were sentenced to death alongside Morsi last month, in what human rights groups have derided as a series of show trials aimed at breaking the backbone of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, of which Morsi is a member.

Earlier Tuesday, Morsi's separate life sentence was also confirmed by an Egyptian court. The sentence relates to separate allegations Morsi spied on behalf of Palestinian group Hamas.

Morsi was Egypt's first democratically-elected president after the fall of Mubarak, but was ousted during a 2013 military coup led by General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

Since coming to power, Sisi has cracked down on the Muslim Brotherhood, which Morsi represented.

The movement was banned as a “terrorist organization” last December. Egyptian courts have sentenced hundreds of the group's members to death in mass trials that have drawn strong international criticism.

In april, a court confirmed the death sentence for Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohammed Badie and 13 others for planning attacks against the state.