Muslim Brotherhood supreme leader in Egypt sentenced to Life for enticing violence

The Ismailia Criminal Court sentenced on Monday former Muslim Brotherhood supreme guide Mohamed Badie, as well as 35 other defendants, to life in prison on charges of employing violence in Ismailia in 2013.

Another 20 defendants received 10 years, while eight more were given 15 years, and 20 were given three years.The court also acquitted 20 others.

The case goes back to 5 July 2013, two days after the forced ouster of president Mohamed Morsi, when clashes broke out between pro-Morsi protesters and security forces, resulting in the death of three people.

Badie and several senior Brotherhood members are standing trial in several cases since the ouster of Morsi in 2013. Badie was previously sentenced to death in four different cases.

Dozens of cases looking into the post-Rabaa violence have been referred to Egyptian courts, where hundreds of defendants faced charges of sabotage, rioting, and murder. The Brotherhood rejects these trials in general, arguing they are part of the “coup regime’s measures to oppress the revolution”. Conversely, the Egyptian government defends these measures, as “defending the Egyptian state from a planned plot”.

Badie is a defendant in other cases related to murder, and attacking public institutions in different cities after the violent dispersal of the pro-Morsi sit-ins. He has already received a number of death and life sentences, and he is also facing trial for leading an “armed sit-in” in Rabaa Al-Adaweya Square, where hundreds of Morsi supporters were killed.

Since the military-led ouster of Morsi, a severe security crackdown was launched targeting members of various Islamist movements. Protests have been faced with a heavy response from security forces, leaving hundreds killed, while parties and charity groups affiliated with Islamist entities were shut down.

The Muslim Brotherhood was declared a terrorist organisation on 25 December 2013, although it was originally outlawed in September 2013. In addition, the assets of Brotherhood members and other prominent Islamists were frozen on the orders Hisham Barakat. The procedure began in July 2013, immediately following the ouster of Morsi.