Morsi and aides may face death sentence in 'grand espionage' case, says lawyer

A lawyer in the defense team of ousted President Mohamed Morsi said in press statements that he expects defendants in the “Grand Espionage” case to be sentenced to death due to the political nature of the case.

Ahmed Qinawy, a lawyer who withdrew from the defense team of Morsi this week, said that the court will likely reach that decision based on reports by the State Security, itself an apparatus hostile to the Muslim Brotherhood.

Qinawy added that although the accusations are unsubstantiated, the case is politically motivated and is driven by a desire to settle scores with the Muslim Brotherhood.

Morsi’s lawyer accused Egyptian security agencies of eavesdropping on Morsi rather than helping him during his one year in office. He considered the evidence brought by security agencies against Morsi as an electronic crime punishable by law.

Qinawy withdrew from the defense team appointed by Sameh Ashour, a pro-coup chairman of the Lawyers’ Syndicate. The original defense team, comprising Morsi’s son Osama, Mohamed Al-Damaty and Kamel Mandour, asked Qinawy to remain in his team, but he refused citing the return of the original team on Wednesday’s session.