CAIRO: An Egyptian appeals court Tuesday quashed one of two life sentences handed down to Muhammad Mursi since his 2013 overthrow, in the ex-president’s second appeals victory in a week.
The Court of Cassation, Egypt’s highest appeals court, issued the verdict, Mursi’s lawyer and a judicial official told AFP.
The court ordered a retrial in the case, Mursi’s lawyer Abdel Moneim Abdel Maqsoud told AFP, adding: “The verdict was full of legal flaws.”
The ruling also quashed sentences against 22 others, including three death sentences against Muslim Brotherhood’s deputy head Khairat Al-Shater and other senior officials from the now banned group.
A court had sentenced Mursi to life in June 2015 on charges of spying for Iran, Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and the Palestinian freedom movement Hamas.
The decision was the latest legal victory for the 65-year-old, who has been convicted and sentenced in all cases against him since being removed from office in 2013.
“Most of the trials in which the former president has been convicted are not built on sufficient evidence: the prosecutor relies on security services reports,” University of Cairo political sciences Professor Mustafa Kamel Al-Sayyed told AFP on Tuesday. Mursi was Egypt’s first freely elected leader, taking power after the 2011 uprising that toppled longtime strongman Hosni Mubarak.
But his year in office proved deeply divisive and he was overthrown following mass street protests.
A crackdown on Mursi’s Muslim Brotherhood followed, with the movement blacklisted, hundreds of its supporters killed and thousands jailed or sentenced to death.
Last week, the Court of Cassation also overturned a death sentence handed down against Mursi on charges of taking part in prison breaks and violence against policemen during the 2011 uprising against Mubarak.
That decision enabled Mursi to stop wearing the red uniform reserved for death row prisoners.
Five codefendants, including Brotherhood supreme guide Mohamed Badie, who also received death sentences, are to be retried too in that case. “These decisions tell us that the initial verdicts were political,” said lawyer and human rights activist Gamal Eid.
From next Monday, the court is to start reviewing a second life sentence handed down against Mursi in a separate trial on charges of stealing documents relating to national security and handing them over to Qatar, a longstanding supporter of the Brotherhood.
Last month, it upheld a 20-year jail sentence passed against Mursi on charges of ordering the use of deadly force against protesters during his year in power, which has become the only final verdict against the former president.
Mursi life sentence quashed
Mursi life sentence quashed
GCC states ‘face reliance on Saudi Arabia for food imports’
- With 70 percent of food coming through Strait of Hormuz, analysts warn of inevitable shortages
DUBAI: Some Gulf states may have to rely on overland food deliveries from Saudi Arabia if the US-Israel-Iran war continues to disrupt shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and restrict regional airspace, analysts warned on Thursday.
The region is up to 90 percent dependent on food imports, and price surges and scarcity of some goods are expected.
“With over 70 percent of GCC foodstuffs being imported through the Strait of Hormuz, Gulf states face shortages if the war persists,” said Neil Quilliam of the Chatham House think tank.
“While GCC countries have taken steps to diversify suppliers and ensure sufficient stores to withstand disruption, this can only last several months. At this point, price increases and longer lead times will start to hit the markets.”
Commodities analyst Ishan Bhanu said: “The biggest immediate effect will be due to the blockade of Jebel Ali in Dubai, serving about 50 million people. Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Iraq effectively become landlocked and will depend on overland routes through Saudi Arabia.”
Bottlenecks are yet to show and the UAE has said its strategic reserves of vital goods cover four to six months of needs. It urged residents to report unjustified price increases through a dedicated hotline.
Supermarket staff throughout the Gulf said shelves remain largely stocked, though suppliers are taking longer to replenish certain products. Iran’s strikes on the Gulf since Saturday prompted panic buying in supermarkets, a dry run for what could come.
“Perception of risk matters, and even if stocks are sufficient now, public runs on supermarkets can spook the public,” Quilliam said.
