White House: Sentences against Morsi 'politically motivated'

The White House yesterday said it was “deeply troubled by the politically motivated sentences that have been handed down against former [Egyptian] president [Mohamed] Morsi and several others by an Egyptian court.”

White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters that the US has “repeatedly raised concerns about the detention and sentencing of a variety of political figures in Egypt.”

“We are concerned that proceedings have been conducted in a way that is not only contrary to universal values but also damaging to stability that all Egyptians deserve.”

“To our knowledge, Mr Morsi’s lawyer intends to appeal the court ruling,” he added.

Earnest stressed that the US administration mass trials that are implemented in a manner that does not comply with Egypt’s international commitments, and is often used against, including civil society leaders and even some independent journalists.

Earnest said such mass trials which were used to try members of the opposition and non-violent activists are “unfair and undermine confidence in the rule of law in Egypt”.

Meanwhile, a senior official in the US State Department said, on condition of anonymity, that his department was “deeply worried about the court’s ruling” noting that the US administration is in direct contact with the Egyptian authorities and has expressed its concern on the mass death sentences.

The Cairo Criminal Court yesterday upheld a death sentence against ousted president Mohamed Morsi for allegedly plotting jailbreaks and attacks on police during the 2011 revolution.

It also sentenced Morsi, Egypt’s first democratically elected president, to life in prison on charges of spying for the Palestinian movement Hamas, Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Iran.