President Mohammed Morsi and over 100 others were sentenced to death by an Egyptian court Saturday. The decision was made over a mass prison break during the 2011 uprising that ousted Hosni Mubarak, later bringing Morsi to power.

A total of 105 defendants sentenced to death with Morsi were mostly tried and convicted in absentia. Some of them include 70 Palestinians. In Egypt, those tried in absentia would receive automatic retrials after being detained, according to the Associated Press.

Like Us on Facebook

Along with Morsi, the Brotherhood's spiritual leader, Mohammed Badie, as well as Qatar-based Youssef al-Qaradawi, one of the Arab world's best known Islamic scholars, were also detained.

In what appears to be the first violent response after the ruling, gunmen shot dead three judges in the Sinai Peninsula hours after the sentencing, reported the Hindustan Times.

Islamic militants were suspected of the attack. Meanwhile, it is believed they also wounded three others who were traveling by car in the northern Sinai city of Al-Arish, said security officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.

After his death sentence on Morsi and several others, Judge Shaaban el-Shami referred his death sentence to the nation's top Muslim theologian or mufti. It is considered customary in their country to refer cases involving capital punishment to the mufti.

June 2 will be the date of the next hearing as set by El-Shami, and sentences can still be appealed despite the mufti's ruling.

Morsi is Egypt's first freely elected leader. In July 2013, he had been ousted by the military days after mass street protests by Egyptians who demanded his removal because of divisive policies.

Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, Morsi's successor, was the military chief at the time. He also led the ouster. Last year, he ran for president and won the vote of the people by a landslide.

The court's decision over Morsi was called "a charade based on null and void procedures" by Amnesty International. They demanded Morsi's release or retrial in a civilian court, reported Reuters.

According to Western diplomats, Egyptian officials had said that it could be political suicide to execute Morsi, thus risking his turning into a martyr like what happened with Brotherhood leaders during previous crackdowns.

On April 21, Morsi was convicted for being linked to the killing of protesters outside a Cairo presidential palace in December 2012. He is still serving a 20-year sentence for the conviction.

TagsEgyptian president, President Mohammed Morsi, Mohammed Morsi, Egypt, the brotherhood, Death Sentence, egypt death penalty