Egypt's ex-leader sentenced to death
Cairo, 17 May - (ANA) - An Egyptian court has pronounced death sentences on ousted president Mohammed Morsi and more than 100 other people over a mass prison break in 2011. Morsi is already serving a 20-year prison term for ordering the arrest and torture of protesters while in power. Egypt's religious authorities will now have to give their opinion before the sentence can be carried out. Morsi's supporters from his Muslim Brotherhood movement have described the charges against him as "farcical". He was deposed by the military in July 2013 following mass street protests against his rule. Since then, the authorities have banned the Muslim Brotherhood and arrested thousands of his supporters. Morsi was Egypt's first freely elected president, but protests began building less than a year into his rule when he issued a decree granting himself far-reaching powers. The armed forces, led by then-military chief Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, ousted Morsi in July 2013. In May 2014, Mr Sisi became president after securing a landslide victory in presidential elections with a turnout of 46%.(ANA)

FA/ANA/17 May 2015----------