Egypt sentences deposed President Mohamed Morsi to 20 years in prison

Former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi was given a 20-year jail sentence — (Image credit: Ahmed Omar/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

On Tuesday, a judge in Cairo handed down 20-year prison sentences to ousted President Mohamed Morsi and 12 other defendants, most of them members of Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood, for the death, kidnapping, and torture of protesters in the violent demonstrations that led to overthrow of Morsi, Egypt's first freely elected president. Judge Ahmed Sabry Youssef acquitted the men of murder, which could have led to death sentences.

The sentences can be appealed, but Morsi faces three other trials, and the government of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi — the former general who overthrew Morsi — has cracked down harshly on the Muslim Brotherhood. The sentencing hearing, from a makeshift courtroom at the national police academy, was broadcast on national TV.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.