Egypt court holds new trial for Morsi, Brotherhood members

A court in Egypt is holding another trial for ousted president, Mohamed Morsi, and dozens of his supporters from the banned Muslim Brotherhood.

The Cairo Criminal Court at the Police Academy has convened to try Morsi and 35 members of the Muslim Brotherhood, with defendants facing espionage charges.

The defendants are accused of disclosing security secrets and spying for foreign organizations.

A few days ago, nearly 80 of Morsi’s supporters were handed prison terms between five and 10 years after being convicted of involvement in last July’s deadly clashes in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria.

On April 28, an Egyptian court handed down death sentences to leader of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, Mohamed Badie, and 682 supporters of the group.

The Muslim Brotherhood recently described the latest court rulings as chilling, saying it would use all peaceful means to end the military rule.

Egypt has been the scene of anti-government protests with continuous clashes between security forces and students since the ouster of Morsi.

The developments come as protests continue across Egypt against the presidential candidacy of former army chief, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

Sisi led the overthrow of Morsi, suspended the constitution and dissolved the parliament last July. He is also accused of leading a severe crackdown against the supporters of Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood movement.

Hundreds of Brotherhood supporters have been killed in clashes with the Egyptian security forces over the past few months. Rights groups say at least 1,400 people have been killed in the violence since Morsi’s ouster, “most of them due to excessive force used by security forces.”