Egypt\u2019s top appeals court has quashed a death sentence against former President Mohamed Morsi, along with sentences against five other top Muslim Brotherhood leaders.Morsi, Egypt\u2019s first freely elected civilian president, was ousted in 2013 by the military \u2013 led by general-turned-president Abdel Fattah el-Sissi \u2013 following popular protests against his one-year rule. He will still have to serve lengthy sentences in separate cases.
\nThe Court of Cassation overturned a June 2015 death sentence against Morsi in a case relating to his breaking out of prison during the country\u2019s January 2011 revolution against long-time Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak. Five of Morsi\u2019s associates also had their sentences reduced in the case.
\nMorsi will continue to serve 20- to 40-year sentences in three cases. The most serious involves the alleged transmitting of secret government documents to the Arab Gulf state of Qatar. Qatar was an ally and supporter of the former president and the Muslim Brotherhood group.
\nAbdel Moneim Abdel Maksoud, a lawyer for the now outlawed group, told the Reuters news agency that he believes the appeals court acted in a fair and impartial manner. \u201cThe ruling,\u201d he insists, \u201cwas expected, because (the original conviction) was flawed.\u201d
\nEgyptian editor and publisher Hisham Kassem tells VOA that he does not believe the ruling has any political implications and that the appeals court is not generally subject to political manipulation.
\n\u201cThe Cassation Court is known for its independence. The government\u2019s ability \u2013 (under) different regimes, from Mubarak, to Morsi, to Sissi, now \u2013 their ability to manipulate these high level courts is very limited. They basically look (to see) if due process has been observed, and if not, then they order a retrial.\u201d
\nKassem believes that Morsi, while president, antagonized Egypt\u2019s judiciary, attempting to force many judges to resign, in a bid to Islamicize the country\u2019s courts.
\nRulings, involving mass death sentences that were made after Morsi\u2019s ouster, were often the result of ill-feelings by judges against the Muslim Brotherhood.
\nSome behind-the-scenes attempts to reduce tensions with the Muslim Brotherhood are under way, Kassem thinks, but he doesn\u2019t believe that Tuesday\u2019s court ruling is part of that effort.
\n\u201cThere happen to be the beginnings, the very shy beginnings of political reconciliation, but I don\u2019t think it\u2019s related to what we\u2019re seeing from the courts.\u201d
\nUnder Sissi, the Egyptian government has sharply cracked down on Morsi\u2019s Muslim Brotherhood. The group was once banned under Mubarak, and after Morsi\u2019s overthrow, was declared a terrorist organization with most of its leaders arrested.
\nIn a separate case, the court ordered the release of two sons of former President Hosni Mubarak, Ala\u2019a and Gamal. Both men were being held over alleged financial improprieties dealing with government property.<\/p>\n
Source: MuslimVillage<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Egypt\u2019s top appeals court has quashed a death sentence against former President Mohamed Morsi, along with sentences against five other top Muslim Brotherhood leaders.Morsi, Egypt\u2019s first freely elected civilian president, was ousted in 2013 by the military \u2013 led by general-turned-president Abdel Fattah el-Sissi \u2013 following popular protests against his one-year rule. He will still […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":6826,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6821","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-c59-islamic-world"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n