Egypt court jails Morsi loyalists for 25 years

An Egyptian court on Wednesday sentenced 25 supporters of former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in absentia to 25 years, three others to ten years and seven others to three years over belonging to the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group and inciting anti-government violence, state-run Ahram news website reported.

Zagazig Criminal Court in Sharqiya province also acquitted on Wednesday 17 others of charges over inciting violence against the police and military in reaction to Morsi's removal.

The Muslim Brotherhood, from which Morsi hailed, has been blacklisted by the Egyptian new leadership as "a terrorist group" and its members have been banned by court order from running in presidential and parliamentary elections.

Hundreds of Morsi supporters have been handed lengthy jail terms and death sentences after speedy trials since Morsi's overthrow by the army in 2013 following mass protests against his one-year rule. A massive security crackdown on his supporters has left about 1,000 dead and thousands others arrested.

Morsi himself is currently in custody for trials over 2011 jailbreak, espionage, ordering the killing of protesters, insulting the judiciary and leaking classified documents to Qatar. Enditem