Roundup: Egypt's ousted president Morsi gets 20 years in jail

An Egyptian Court on Tuesday sentenced former Islamist President Mohammed Morsi to 20 years in prison over ordering the arrest and torture of protesters in 2012.

Cairo Criminal Court has also sentenced 12 Muslim Brotherhood leading members to 20 years in prison, while two others received 10-year imprisonment terms in the same case.

Tuesday's court ruling, which is appealable, is the first against the deposed leader, who has been standing trials since his ouster over a number of charges, including the 2011 jailbreak, ordering the killing of anti-Brotherhood protesters, insulting the judiciary, espionage and leakage of classified documents to a foreign country.

In the said case, Morsi along with the other defendants are accused of ordering the arrest and torture of protesters during demonstrations outside a presidential palace in Cairo in 2012.

Meanwhile, the court acquitted Morsi and the 14 other defendants of a more serious charge, namely ordering and inciting the killing of protesters, whose penalty could reach a capital punishment.

Also on Tuesday, another Egyptian criminal court but outside Cairo sentenced 11 of Morsi's loyalists from two to six years in prison while acquitted 134 others of charges of inciting riot and violence.

Morsi was overthrown by the military in July 2013 after a mass protest against his one-year reign and his Brotherhood group. His ouster was followed by a massive security crackdown against his loyalists, which left about 1,000 of them killed and thousands more arrested.

Since Morsi's removal, terrorist activities mounted in the most populous Arab country, leaving hundreds of police and army personnel killed in anti-government attacks carried out by extremists, self-proclaimed Islamists.

The new leadership under former military chief and now President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi blacklisted the Brotherhood as "a terrorist organization" after a number of anti-government blasts since Morsi's ouster.

The group's top chief Mohamed Badie, who is also in custody, has been sentenced to death more than once and is currently wearing the execution red uniform while detained in prison, but none of the death verdicts against him has been carried out yet.

The Brotherhood, which considers Morsi's ouster as "a military coup" against legitimacy, always denied connection with terrorist groups and urged anti-government protests.

In anticipation of Tuesday's court ruling, the Brotherhood called in a statement on Monday evening for "a comprehensive revolutionary movement" in support of the ousted president "who was elected through the only free and fair presidential elections Egypt witnessed throughout history."

It warned of "serious consequences" if the judiciary is used to ruin the gains attained by the January 2011 uprising that toppled long-time ruler Hosni Mubarak, saying "this would lead the country to a dark tunnel."

Egypt's judiciary is currently holding mass trials for thousands of defendants over charges varying from belonging to the Brotherhood to murdering anti-Brotherhood protesters.

On Monday, an Egyptian court ordered the execution of 22 of Morsi's loyalists over an armed attack on a police station in Giza following Morsi's overthrow.

Earlier in February, the same Giza Criminal Court ordered execution of 183 of Morsi's supporters over killing 14 policemen and mutilating their bodies at the same police station.

Egypt carried out the first execution of one of Morsi's supporters in early March, as the man was convicted of killing young boys by throwing them off a building roof during a pro-Morsi protest in the seaside province of Alexandria. Endit