In a verdict which an Amnesty International official says “shatters any remaining illusion of independence and impartiality in Egypt’s criminal justice system,” Mohammed Morsi was convicted Monday by a Cairo court.

Al-Jazeera English:

Morsi was convicted on Tuesday of ordering the arrest and torture of protesters in clashes outside the presidential palace in December 2012. The court acquitted the former president of murder charges that could have seen him face the death penalty.

Morsi also faces serious charges in three other cases, including an accusation that he passed intelligence to Qatar.

Mohammed Soudan, a senior member of the Muslim Brotherhood, and an official within its affiliated Freedom and Justice Party, told Al Jazeera that the trial was a “political farce”…Amnesty International also condemned the trial as a “sham”, and called for the release of Morsi and protesters…Egyptian journalist, Yehia Ghanem, told Al Jazeera the Egyptian government was sending a message that it would not tolerate any opposition.

Read more.

—Posted by Natasha Hakimi Zapata

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