World denounces death sentence against Egypt's Morsi

The United Nation and world nations have condemned the death sentences handed down to deposed Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi and more than 90 other people over a mass jail break during the 2011 popular uprising.

"The United Nations is against the use of the death penalty in all circumstances," the press office of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a statement on Tuesday.

It added, "The Secretary-General is concerned that such verdicts, handed down after mass trials, may well have a negative impact on the prospects for long-term stability in Egypt."

The White House also criticized Egypt's military-run government over sentencing Morsi to death, dismissing the decision as politically tainted.

"We are deeply troubled by the politically motivated sentences that have been handed down against former president Morsi and several others by an Egyptian court today," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said.

He added, “The United States has repeatedly raised concerns about the detention and sentencing of a variety of political figures in Egypt."

"We are concerned that proceedings have been conducted in a way that is not only contrary to universal values but also damaging to stability that all Egyptians deserve," Earnest stated.

Turkey's Foreign Ministry in a statement said Morsi was exposed to a decision, which is "arbitrary, far from international standards and unlawful."

"The decision will not contribute to much-needed social peace and stability environment [in Egypt] at all," the statement said. The ministry also called for the revocation of the verdict "as soon as possible."

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan also called Morsi death sentence a "massacre of law and basic rights."

"We call on the international community to act to withdraw these death sentences, given under the instructions of the coup regime, and to put an end to this path which could seriously endanger the peace of Egyptian society," Erdogan said in a statement.

Qatar expressed "deep concern" on Wednesday over the death sentence handed down against the former Egyptian leader.

"Doha adds its voice to the countries calling for the verdict to be quashed and Morsi released," said the statement on the official Qatar News Agency.

"The death sentences against political dissidents in Egypt harm security and stability, and close the door to reconciliation and harmony," the statement noted.

On Tuesday, a court in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, upheld a death sentence against Morsi.

Egypt’s judiciary had charged Morsi and 130 other defendants with escaping from Wadi el-Natrun Prison, located north of Cairo, in January 2011, during the uprising that led to the ouster of the country’s former dictator Hosni Mubarak.

Earlier on Tuesday, the same Egyptian court sentenced Morsi to life in prison on charges related to involvement in espionage activities. 

Morsi, Egypt’s first democratically-elected president, was toppled in a July 2013 military coup led by Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the current president and the then head of the armed forces. Morsi was himself given a 20-year prison term on April 21.

MP/NN/HRB

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