An
Egyptian court on Saturday upheld life sentence in prison against the
ousted president Mohamed Morsi over charges of spying for Qatar,
State-run Nile TV reported.
In Egypt, a life sentence is 25 years in jail.
The
Court of Cassation, Egypt's highest appeal court, rejected Morsi's
appeal and said the ruling against him is "final and unappealable,"
official news agency MENA said.
The
same court confirmed death sentences against three prominent figures of
Muslim Brotherhood, Morsi's group, over the same charges.
The defendants were accused of sneaking classified documents about the armed forces that harm the national security to Qatar.
The
documents allegedly contained secrets on "national security," and were
allegedly traded with the Qatari intelligence for a million dollars. The
prosecution also accused the defendants of working for the "terrorist
branded Muslim Brotherhood" organization.
Qatar was a main backer of Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood movement while he was in power between 2012 and July 2013.
Two other defendants also received life and rigorous imprisonment terms in the case.
This is the second time that Morsi got confirmed sentence.
On
Oct. 22, 2016, the same appeal court has confirmed a 20-year prison
sentence against Morsi on charges of violence and murder in 2012, when
clashes erupted outside a presidential palace between his supporters and
opponents, which killed up to 10 people.
Morsi,
Egypt's first democratically elected president, was ousted by the army
in 2013 in response to mass protests against his rule.
His Muslim Brotherhood group has been designated as a terrorist group by the government.
Hundreds of the group received death and life sentences, mostly over violence, murder and spying charges.
Morsi has been also convicted in other cases.
On
May 17, 2015, Morsi and 106 supporters of his Muslim Brotherhood
received death penalties over a mass jail break following the 2011
uprising that ousted the long time ruler Hosni Mubarak.
But the death sentence verdict was overturned and now Morsi is facing retrial.
The
ousted Islamist president, along with the Brotherhood guide Mohamed
Badei and other seven members of the group, was sentenced to life in
prison in June 2015 for conspiring with foreign militant groups Hamas
and Hezbollah against Egypt's national security.
Yet the case is appealable.
On
the Brotherhood page, the members commented that the verdicts are "an
honor," adding it won't prevent creation of thousands of likewise
courageous men.
Ahmed
Ban, expert with Nile Center for political studies, and a Brotherhood
dissident, predicted President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will pardon Morsi if
finally Morsi reached execution.
He added both the country and the Brotherhood group will seek reconciliation, but each is waiting for more concessions.
