Former hard-line Islamist Muslim Brotherhood Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi has been sentenced to 20 years in prison without parole by an Egyptian court on charges of killing protesters in December 2012. In addition to Morsi, 12 Muslim Brotherhood leaders, including the general secretary of the Muslim Brotherhood and its parliamentarian also were sentenced to 20 years in prison without parole.

Judge Ahmed Sabry Youssef read the sentence live on state television. Army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who succeeded Morsi after mass protests against the Muslim Brotherhood’s terror campaign against other Egyptians, decimated the Bortherhood; he stated that they were joined in a terrorist network to attack Egypt and the West.

Although the defendants were not charged with murder, they were accused of violence, kidnapping and torture. The Muslim Brotherhood has boasted it will return to power because it is popular with citizens, although its demonstrations have attracted few adherents.

Morsi’s downfall was triggered by his decision to expand presidential powers, which catalyzed demonstrations in which protesters were killed. Al-Monitor stated, “He brutally killed protesters, dragging the people back down into a deep pit of fear and compliance.” One victim’s brother, Reda Sanoussi, said the sentence against Morsi was not adequate, asserting, "I want to enter the cage and pull out his intestines," he said.

The leftist group Amnesty International called the sentence a "travesty of justice" and called for Morsi’s retrial in civilian court or for his outright release.