Egypt's Morsy: Death sentence upheld; life term in second case

                          


                                    

Cairo (CNN)A court in Egypt upheld a death sentence Tuesday against former President Mohamed Morsy.

Morsy, 63, was sentenced to death last month for his role in a 2011 prison break.

Morsy, along with 16 other Muslim Brotherhood leaders, was also given a life sentence for espionage. Life in Egypt means 25 years.

Three more senior members of the organization -- Khairat Al Shater, Mohamed Beltagy and Ahmed Abdel Alaty -- were sentenced to death by hanging.

The political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood, the Freedom and Justice Party, called the decision "politicized" and the charges "fabricated."

"President Morsy's trial has fallen far below the most basic international legal standards," a statement from the Muslim Brotherhood said. "Today's announcement is another nail in the coffin for democracy in Egypt."

It called on the international community to stop what it called the "cruel dictatorship" of Gen. Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

The military ousted Morsy, Egypt's first democratically elected leader, in 2013.

source: www.cnn.com