Egypt’s Court of Cassation, the highest in that country’s judicial system, on Saturday rejected an appeal by ousted president Mohamed Morsi over a 20-year prison sentence in the Ittihadiya clashes case, Al Ahram reported on Saturday. With that, Morsi’s appeals in this case have been exhausted.
On December 5, 2012, clashes broke out outside the Ittihadiya presidential palace between Muslim Brothers and protesters that left 11 Egyptians dead. The protesters rejected a constitutional amendment issued by President Morsi on November 22, 2012, allowing him to issue any decision or law he wished, leaving all alternative authority without the power to oppose or revoke it. Video footage from the clashes showed Morsi supporters beating the protesters, even tying one up to the palace doors and torturing another.
The Ittihadeya clashes are regarded as the turning point in the Muslim Brotherhood’s rule in Egypt. The protests not only the denounced constitutional decree but also called for Morsi’s resignation. Six months later, Morsi was ousted by the military following mass demonstrations.
The ousted president is also appealing several other cases where he has been sentenced to death. This is the first case where he has exhausted all appeals. After his overthrow, Morsi faced several charges including inciting the killing of opponents protesting outside his palace, espionage for foreign militant groups including Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, for escaping Wadi el-Natroun Prison during the 2011 revolution prior to his election as president, for leaking classified documents to Qatar, and “insulting the judiciary.”