Egypt's ousted President Morsi jailed for 20 years

As Sally Nabil reports, Mohammed Morsi's lawyers have said they will appeal
An Egyptian court has sentenced former President Mohammed Morsi to 20 years in jail for ordering the arrest and torture of protesters during his rule.



It is the first verdict he has received since his ousting and is one of several trials he faces.

Morsi was deposed by the army in July 2013 following mass street protests against his rule. Since then, the authorities have banned his Muslim Brotherhood movement and arrested thousands of his supporters.

Morsi and 14 other Brotherhood figures escaped a more serious charge of inciting the killing of protesters, which could have carried the death sentence.
Most of the other defendants were also given 20-year prison sentences. Morsi's legal team have said they will appeal.

Members of the banned Muslim Brotherhood, Essam al-Erian (C) and Mohamed al-Beltagy (L) along other defendants flash the four-finger sign from behind bars during a trial session, in Cairo, Egypt, 21 April 2015.

Morsi's co-defendants gave a defiant four-fingered salute during the hearing

Morsi's trials

This verdict is just one of several Mr Morsi faces. They include:
Colluding with foreign militants in a plot to free Islamists in mass prison breaks during the 2011 uprising against Hosni Mubarak
Espionage and conspiring to commit terrorist acts in Egypt with the Palestinian movement Hamas, Lebanon's Hezbollah and Iran's Revolutionary Guards
Endangering national security by leaking state secrets and sensitive documents to Qatar via the Doha-based Al Jazeera network

Morsi stood accused of inciting supporters to kill a journalist and opposition protesters in clashes outside the presidential palace in late 2012.
As crowds grew outside the palace, Morsi ordered the police to disperse them.
They refused, so the Muslim Brotherhood brought in their own supporters. Eleven people died in the ensuing clashes, mostly from the Brotherhood.