Egypt sentences 11 Islamist leaders to life for spying

Egypt sentences 11 Islamist leaders to life for spying
In this file photo dated Saturday, May 16, 2015, Muslim Brotherhood spiritual leader, Mohammed Badie waves from a defendants cage in a makeshift courtroom at the national police academy, in eastern Cairo, Egypt. (AP)
Updated 11 September 2019
Follow

Egypt sentences 11 Islamist leaders to life for spying

Egypt sentences 11 Islamist leaders to life for spying
  • The military overthrew Morsi in 2013 amid massive protests against his rule
  • Authorities have since branded the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization and arrested thousands of its members

CAIRO: An Egyptian court has sentenced 11 Muslim Brotherhood leaders to life in prison on charges of espionage with the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
Among those sentenced by the Cairo criminal court was the Brotherhood's head, Mohammed Badie.

This is the latest of several sentences against Badie, who received a life sentence last week on charges related to mass prison breaks during the 2011 uprising.

Charges were also dropped Wednesday against the late former president, Mohammed Morsi, who collapsed and died in June during a court session on the case.

Morsi, a senior Brotherhood figure, became Egypt's first freely-elected president in 2012. The military overthrew Morsi in 2013 amid massive protests against his brief rule.

Authorities have since branded the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization and arrested thousands of its members.