Morsi faces terror charges carrying death penalty

Overthrown Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi is to stand trial on terror charges that carry the death penalty.

He has been accused of conspiring with the Palestinian group Hamas, Lebanon’s Hizbullah and others to carry out a campaign of violence in the Sinai peninsula and beyond to destabilise the country, following his removal.

Prosecutors claim that while he was president, Mr Morsi and his aides revealed state secrets to the militant groups and to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard. He and 35 others, including the Muslim Brotherhood’s top three leaders, are also accused of sponsoring terrorism and carrying out combat training and other acts to undermine Egypt’s stability.

No trial date has been set in the new case. Mr Morsi is already on trial on charges of inciting the murder of his opponents while in office. He was removed from office in July by the military, following days of mass protests demanding he step down. He spent months in a secret location before he appeared in court to face the incitement charges in November. That trial resumes in January.

Prosecutors said their new investigation showed that the brotherhood’s international branch had carried out violent acts in Egypt to create chaos. They claimed the brotherhood prepared a terrorist plot that involved smuggling weapons into the country and smuggling their own members into the Gaza Strip to receive military training from Hizbullah and Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, to enable them to carry out operations in the Sinai.

Prosecutors said their investigation showed the brotherhood received funds from foreign countries. Investigators claim the plan began as earlier as 2005 and was put it into effect in 2011 during the turmoil that accompanied the uprising against former president Hosni Mubarak.

Mr Morsi’s senior presidential aides, also members of the brotherhood, revealed state secrets by emails to group members abroad, as well as to Hamas, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and Hizbullah, prosecutors claim. The prosecutors said Mr Morsi was aware of the leaks. – (AP)