Show caption Mohamed Morsi watches from the defendants’ cage during his trial on charges of organising jail breaks during the 2011 uprising. Photograph: Tarek El-Gabass/AFP/Getty Images Mohamed Morsi Mohamed Morsi death sentence overturned Deposed Egyptian president no longer faces threat of execution but continues to serve long jail terms

Reuters in Cairo Tue 15 Nov 2016 06.01 EST Share on Facebook

Share on Twitter

Share via Email 3 years old

An Egyptian court has overturned a death sentence against the deposed president Mohamed Morsi, and ordered a retrial.

The Muslim Brotherhood leader was sentenced to death in June 2015 in connection with a mass jail break during Egypt’s 2011 uprising.

The first president to be democratically elected after the revolution, Morsi was overthrown in mid-2013 by general-turned-president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi during mass protests against his rule, and immediately arrested.

Tuesday’s ruling by the court of cassation means Morsi is no longer under threat of execution, although he is serving three long jail sentences. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison without parole on charges arising from the killing of protesters in December 2012; 40 years on charges of spying for Qatar; and a life sentence on charges of spying for the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.