UN chief concerned about implications of Morsi's prison sentence on Egypt

The United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is reported to be following up on the implications on Egypt’s ousted President Mohamed Morsi’s sentence on the country’s overall situation, a UN deputy spokesperson said yesterday.

“The UN is following up with Morsi’s sentencing and it will issue a statement at a later time in this regard,” Farhan Haq told the Anadolu Agency.

Haq did not specify a release date for the statement.

Earlier, Egypt’s State Information Service (SIS) described the reactions of some countries and non-governmental organisations on Morsi’s prison sentence as “unacceptable interference in the country’s affairs”.

On Tuesday, the Cairo Criminal Court sentenced Morsi and 12 others, mostly members and leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood, to 20 years in prison on charges of arresting and torturing protestors in 2012.

The defendants denied the charges.