Egypt Court Sentences 17 Mursi Supporters to 3 Years in Prison
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Port Said criminal court sentenced on Sunday 17 supporters of ousted Egyptian president Mohamed Mursi to three years in prison for storming the Al-Arab Police Station in the coastal governorate in August 2013.
Two other defendants, tried in absentia, were sentenced to life in prison.
The first trial for this case took place in August 2015. The court had sentenced 95 defendants, mostly in absentia, to life in prison.
Life sentences, which are the maximum penalty in most criminal offenses, are given to those tried in absentia.
Once the defendants turn themselves in to the authorities, as the 17 convicted did, a retrial takes place.
The three-year sentence can still be appealed, Ahramonline reported.
In an August 2015 ruling, the Muslim Brotherhood’s Supreme Leader Mohamed Badie and the group’s top leaders Safwat Hegazy and Mohamed El-Beltagi, all in custody, also received life sentences in this case for inciting the storming of the police station.
They are currently appealing their sentences.
A life sentence means 25 years in jail, according to Egypt’s penal code.
