Egypt court gives Mursi another life sentence over spying case

Egypt’s former President Mohamed Mursi has been given another life sentence after a court in Cairo found him guilty of espionage and leaking state secrets.

The leader of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood has already received the death penalty and a life sentence in other cases.

Six others accused alongside Mursi had death sentences approved on Saturday, including three journalists sentenced in their absence.

Prosecutors argued that the former president and his aides were involved in leaking sensitive documents to Qatari intelligence that exposed the location of weapons held by Egyptian armed forces.

Relations between the two countries have been hostile since 2013 when after mass protests, Mursi was overthrown by then army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

Now president, he believes the Brotherhood poses a serious threat to security despite the massive crackdown on the group that’s seen tens of thousands jailed.

Egypt’s judicial system has been castigated by international human rights organisations, with trials described as grossly unfair.