Egypt Sets Mohammed Morsi Trial Verdict Date for Espionage

An Egyptian court set May 16 for a verdict in the espionage trial of ousted president Mohammed Morsi, who could be sentenced to death if convicted, an official said today.

Mr Morsi, toppled by former army chief and now President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in 2013, faces several trials along with top leaders of his Muslim Brotherhood.

In this case, he and 35 others are charged with being part of a vast conspiracy to destabilize Egypt involving foreign powers, the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, Lebanon's Hezbollah and Iran's Revolutionary Guards.

Separately, another court is to deliver a verdict on April 21 in the trial of Mr Morsi and 14 others for inciting the killing of protesters in clashes outside the presidential palace in December 2012.

That will be the first in any of the cases against Mr Morsi, who also faces a third trial for breaking out of jail during the 2011 uprising that toppled President Hosni Mubarak.

Mr Morsi, Egypt's first freely elected president, was ousted after only a year in office following protests in which millions took to the streets accusing him of monopolizing power and demanding his resignation.

Since then, a government crackdown on his supporters has left more than 1,400 people dead.

Thousands more Morsi supporters have been imprisoned, and dozens sentenced to death after speedy trials the United Nations has called "unprecedented in recent history".