CAIRO — An Egyptian criminal court on Tuesday sentenced former president Muhammad Morsi to 20 years in prison on charges linked to the killing of protesters in 2012, the first verdict to be issued against the country's first freely elected leader. The ruling can be appealed. However, Morsi escaped receiving a death sentence in the case. Tuesday's verdict sparked no immediate street protests. During the hearing, Judge Ahmed Youssef issued his verdict as Morsi and other defendants in the case — mostly Brotherhood leaders — stood in a soundproof glass cage inside a makeshift courtroom at Egypt's national police academy. Seven of the accused were tried in absentia. In addition to Morsi, 12 Brotherhood leaders and Islamist supporters, including Mohammed El-Beltagy and Essam El-Erian, also were sentenced to 20 years in prison. Youssef dropped murder charges involved in the case and said the sentences were linked to the “show of force” and unlawful detention associated with the case. The case stems from violence outside the presidential palace in December 2012. It was a far cry from when the trial first began, when Morsi repeatedly shouted to the court: “I am the president of the republic!“ During subsequent court appearances, Morsi and other defendants turned their backs to the court when Youssef played several videos of the clashes outside the palace in 2012. Morsi is being held at a high security prison near the Mediterranean city of Alexandria. Tuesday's hearing took place amid heavy security, as hundreds of black-clad riot police deployed at the police academy, backed by armored vehicles. — AP
