Morsi Charged With Spying and Committing Terror Acts

Ousted Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi faced charges of espionage and committing acts of terror in Egypt on Sunday. A third trial is due as former Islamist president of the country faces four prosecutions.

Morsi was brought to Cairo’s police academy on Sunday morning by helicopter from the Burj al-Arab prison where he is being held. In the latest trial, he was accused of collaborating with the Palestinian movement Hamas, Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Iran’s Revolutionary Guards to carry out attacks in Egypt. If convicted he could receive death penalty.

Four trials of Mohammed Morsi according to the reports are:

Incitement of supporters to commit violence and murder during the break-up of December 2012 protest
Conspiring with foreign organizations (Hamas and Hezbollah) to commit terrorist acts
Murder of prison officers in jailbreak during 2011 uprising against President Mubarak
Insulting the judiciary

The first trial opened in November last year, on charges of inciting the killing of protesters near the presidential palace when he was in office in 2012. In January, another trail took place pertaining to his escape from prison in a jailbreak in 2011, during which the police officers were killed. The fourth trial will be on charges of insulting judiciary.

Morsi was toppled by military in July 3, last year, following mass street protests against his stringent and turbulent rule. A severe crackdown on his Muslim Brotherhood group as well as on other activists who opposed the military backed rule, followed. The Brotherhood which flourished during Morsi’s presidency has been declared a terrorist organization and authorities have penalized any public support for it. Senior Brotherhood figures, including supreme guide Mohammed Badie and his deputy and former presidential candidate Khairat al-Shater are also facing a number of charges,. More than thousands lost their lives in the clashes between the security forces and pro-Morsi protesters with thousands more arrested.

Morsi’s supporters asserted that he and other senior Brotherhood leaders were the victims of politically motivated prosecutions. In his previous court appearances Morsi refused to recognize the legitimacy of the court and insisted that he was still the rightful president.