Morsi life sentence for espionage overturned
The Court of Cassation has overturned a life sentence handed former President Mohamed Morsi and ordered a retrial in the case that revolves around accusations of espionage with Hamas. Reuters says the ruling by the nation’s highest appeals court “overturns all convictions in the case including life sentences against Mohamed Badie, the General Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood, and 15 others. Senior Brotherhood officials Kheirat al-Shater and Mohamed al-Beltagi as well as Morsi aide Ahmed Abdelatti had originally been sentenced to death in the case and also saw their convictions dropped on Tuesday.” Hamas welcomed the verdict, saying “the decision confirms the fact that Egypt stands at equal distances from all the parties involved in the Palestinian conflict.” The story is the lead item on Egypt in the international press this morning, with pickups as far afield as the Wall Street Journal, the BBC, the New York Times, Reuters and CNN.