Egypt Court Upholds Death Sentence for Morsi

An Egyptian court handed down two sentences to former president Mohammed Morsi Tuesday, first ordering him to prison for 25 years and then upholding a death sentences on separate charges.

"Life" in the Egyptian judiciary means 25 years.

The death sentence for plotting jailbreaks and attacks on police will spare Morsi from having to serve years in prison, but he still has the right to appeal and get his chance to stay in jail instead of being executed.

He was sentenced to "life" earlier in the day for espionage and conspiring with Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran's Revolutionary Guards to destabilize the country.

Sixteen other Muslim Brotherhood officials were sentenced to death, and another 16 to "life" on Tuesday.

Morsi was elected in 2012 in elections that are suspected of having been rigged. The Obama administration welcomed the Muslim Brotherhood leader as the replacement for Hosni Mubarak, whose ouster was cheered by the American government.