Egypt’s Morsi sentenced to 20 years in prison

A Cairo court has sentenced former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi and 12 other defendants to 20 years in prison.

Morsi was convicted on Tuesday of ordering the arrest and torture of protesters in clashes outside the presidential palace in December 2012 that killed 10 people. The court acquitted him of murder charges that could have resulted in the death penalty. He still faces serious charges in three other cases, including an accusation that he passed intelligence to Qatar.

Egyptian journalist Yehia Ghanem told Al Jazeera that the Egyptian government was sending a message that it would not tolerate any opposition. “The whole thing was calculated politically from the start. It sends a message to Egyptians and the rest of the world that there’s no future for any civil rule,” he said.

Amid mass protests against his rule in the summer of 2013, Morsi was deposed by the military chief and minister of defense at the time, Abdel Fattah El Sisi, who is now the president. After the coup, Morsi’s supporters launched a series of protests and sit-ins across the country, leading to a crackdown by security forces that left hundreds of people dead.

In the deadliest incident, at least 817 protesters were killed in Cairo’s Rabaa al-Adawiya Square when security forces opened fire on a sit-in. Human Rights Watch said the killings likely amounted to “crimes against humanity.”

During Tuesday’s hearing, Morsi and the rest of the defendants, who were sitting in a soundproof glass cage and wearing white jumpsuits, raised the four-finger sign symbolizing the sit-in at Rabaa al-Adawiya.

Under Sisi’s government, Muslim Brotherhood members have faced mass trials that end with death sentences, sparking international condemnation.

At least 1,212 people have been sentenced to death since the start of 2014, including the head of the Muslim Brotherhood, Mohamed Badie. Thousands of others have been imprisoned, with many Morsi supporters facing charges of involvement in violence.

The heavy sentences have raised questions about the independence of Egypt’s judiciary — which, analysts say, could have contributed to the sentence Morsi received Tuesday.

“Morsi's trial gripped international attention, and a heavy sentence would have put the judiciary under a spotlight,” said Sameh Eid, a former Brotherhood member who researches Islamic movements. “Today the judiciary seemed keen in preserving its image.”

Al Jazeera and wire services