Egypt upholds life sentence against Brotherhood leader Mohammed Badie

The file photo shows Mohammed Badie, a prominent leader of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood.

The Court of Cassation in Egypt has upheld a life sentence given to the Muslim Brotherhood’s spiritual leader Mohammed Badie, convicting him of “planning violent attacks”.

The appeals court issued the ruling on Saturday as Badie has already been slapped with two life sentences, which in Egypt is 25 years in prison. The ruling is final and cannot be appealed.

The court also upheld life sentences against Mahmoud Ghozlan, a Brotherhood spokesman and another leader of the party, while five-year prison terms for 14 others were also confirmed, according to lawyer Abdel Moneim Abdel Maksoud. All the defendants had faced charges of conspiring to stir unrest during massive street protests that followed the coup in July 2013 against former President Mohammed Morsi.

Morsi, himself from the Brotherhood, is also sentenced to life behind bars. He along with Badie and 13 other leaders of the party had been sentenced to death over terrorism charges. However, the court of cassation abolished the death sentences against Badie and scores of others in 2015 and ordered a retrial.

Egypt banned the Brotherhood in 2013 right after Morsi was deposed in the coup led by the then army chief and current President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. The party is the most popular in Egypt and one of the oldest and most well-established in the Muslim world.

Tens of thousands have been jailed over connections to the Brotherhood since Sisi came to power in 2014. Rights groups and governments have criticized the crackdown, saying it is a sign of Sisi’s lack of tolerance for dissent.

The large-scale crackdown is also believed to be a major reason for continued unrest across Egypt, especially in the Sinai Peninsula, where security forces and civilians have come under repeated attacks by militants.