Acting Muslim Brotherhood leader Mahmoud Ezzat sentenced to life in prison for espionage

El-Sayed Gamal El-Din , Sunday 19 Dec 2021

A Cairo Criminal Court sentenced Mahmoud Ezzat — the acting supreme guide of the Muslim Brotherhood — in a retrial on Sunday to life in prison for collaborating with the Palestinian group Hamas and other foreign organisations and disclosing information pertaining to Egypt’s national security.

Mahmoud Ezzat
Mahmoud Ezzat

According to the prosecution’s investigation on the case that dates back to 2013, Ezzat, along with others, is charged with committing acts that undermine the independence, unity, and territorial integrity of the country.

A life sentence in Egypt carries 25 years in jail.

The official charges levelled against the defendants are communicating with foreign organisations with the aim of committing terrorist acts inside the country and financing terrorism to achieve the purposes of the international organisation formally known as the Muslim Brotherhood.

Investigations showed that the defendants cooperated with elements affiliated with a terrorist group in Sinai and qualified others to spread rumors to influence public opinion.

Ezzat, who was arrested in 2020, was first handed a death sentence in absentia in 2015.

Under Egyptian law, in absentia convictions must be re-tried once the defendant is apprehended.

Today’s ruling against Ezzat, who is currently standing trial in other cases, can be appealed. 

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