Court rules to include Mohamed Morsi – Egypt’s first freely-elected president – to state’s official list of ‘terrorists’

Egypt’s official state gazette on Monday reported that a court had ruled to include Mohamed Morsi -- the country’s first democratically-elected president who was ousted in a 2013 military coup -- to Egypt’s official list of "terrorists".

According to the gazette, the Cairo Criminal Court also ruled to include the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group -- of which Morsi is a leader -- on the state’s list of "terrorist entities".

The gazette also reported that 35 individuals, including Morsi, had been placed on the list for a period of three years.

Ismail Abu Baraka, a lawyer for a number of the individuals included on the list, told Anadolu Agency that all 35 had been convicted earlier of "collaborating" with Palestinian resistance movement Hamas, which is ideologically close to the Muslim Brotherhood.

He noted, however, that an appeal against the convictions had since been lodged with Egypt’s Court of Cassation, the country’s highest appeals court.

Abu Baraka went on to note that the court ruling calling for Morsi’s inclusion on the "terrorist" list had originally been issued in April "but defense lawyers had not been informed and did not attend the court session".

Egypt's first democratically elected president, Morsi was ousted by the military in a 2013 military coup after serving only one year in office.

He has since been slapped with multiple death and prison sentences for "conspiring against Egypt", spying for Qatar, "insulting" the judiciary and breaking out of jail during a 2011 popular uprising.

Morsi and his co-defendants, along with a number of independent observers, say the charges against him are politically motivated.

Since Morsi's overthrow three years ago, the Egyptian authorities have waged a harsh crackdown on his Muslim Brotherhood group, killing hundreds and throwing tens of thousands behind bars.