Supporters of Morsi hold new rallies

Supporters of ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi and outlawed Muslim Brotherhood movement have once again held anti-government demonstrations in Egypt.

The demonstrators gathered on Wednesday in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, and the city of Fayoum, calling for an end to the country’s military rule.

They also demanded that the government release all political prisoners.

University students have also been holding similar demonstrations across the country in recent months.

Last week, an Egyptian criminal court in the city of Asyut sentenced 40 of Morsi’s supporters to 15 years in prison.

Morsi himself and tens of Muslim Brotherhood leaders are standing trial for what the military-backed court calls the destabilization of Egypt through collaborating with such groups as Palestinian resistance movement Hamas and Lebanese movement Hezbollah and leaking confidential information to foreign countries.

Egypt has witnessed regular protest rallies since the July 2013 ouster of Morsi, who was the country’s first president democratically elected after the ouster of long-time dictator Hosni Mubarak in 2011.

The army has launched a crackdown on the supporters of Morsi, which has left over 1,400 people dead and 22,000 arrested. Some 200 people have also been sentenced to death in mass trials.