EGYPT COURT SENTENCES MORSI'S SON TO 1 YR IN JAIL

Former President Mohamed Morsi’s Son, Abdullah (Image: The Cairo Post)

Cairo, 5 Ramadan 1435/3 July 2014 (MINA) – A criminal court in Egypt has given a one-year prison sentence to the youngest son of the country’s ousted President Mohamed Morsi.

On Wednesday, Abdullah Morsi and his friend were convicted on charges of possessing and consuming drugs, Press TV quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.

The two have also been ordered to pay $1,400 in fines. Morsi’s family has denied the charges, saying the court verdict is an attempt to tarnish their image.

The ruling comes just one day ahead of the first anniversary of the ouster of Morsi by the military.

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The former president, who is now in prison, is facing a number of trials on different charges.

Morsi’s supporters have planned to hold mass protests on Thursday on the anniversary of his ouster.

Morsi, the country’s first democratically-elected president, was toppled in July 2013 in a military coup led by Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Egypt’s current president and the then commander-in-chief of the army.

Egypt has been the scene of anti-government protests with continuous clashes between security forces and Morsi supporters since the ouster of the ex-president.

Following the ouster, Sisi announced his candidacy for the nation’s presidency and was sworn in as president after winning an election in which less that 50 percent of eligible voters participated.

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Sisi is accused of leading the suppression of the Muslim Brotherhood supporters as hundreds of them have been killed in clashes with the Egyptian security forces over the past few months.

Rights groups say the army’s crackdown on the supporters of Morsi has left over 1,400 people dead and 22,000 arrested. (T/P09/P04)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)