An Egyptian criminal court has sentenced ousted Islamist President Mohammed Morsi to 20 years in prison over the killing of protesters in 2012, the first verdict to be issued against the country's first elected leader.

The Cairo Criminal Court issued the verdict Tuesday as Morsi and other defendants in the case stood in a soundproof glass cage inside a makeshift courtroom at Egypt's national police academy.

The case stems from violence outside the presidential palace in December 2012. Morsi's supporters attacked opposition protesters, sparking clashes that killed at least 10 people.

Morsi faces several other trials along with thousands of Muslim Brotherhood members following the military overthrowing him in 2013.

He has been held at a high-security prison near the Mediterranean city of Alexandria.