[JURIST] Egypt’s Court of Cassation [official website, in Arabic] on Tuesday overturned the life sentences of former president Mohamed Morsi and 16 other members of the Muslim Brotherhood. Morsi had been convicted [Al Jazeera report] for conspiring with the Palestinian Hamas and other foreign militant groups. The court ordered a retrial in the matter, though a new hearing date is yet to be scheduled. The court also performed the same [AP report] for Brotherhood spiritual leader Mohammed Badei and fellow members accused of spying for Hamas and Iran. Last week the court had overturned [JURIST report] Morsi’s death sentence in the matter of his prison break during the Egyptian Revolution in 2011. Morsi still faces numerous other sentences including 20 years for violence against protestors [JURIST report] and 40 years for leaking state secrets to Qatar.

Morsi was elected president of Egypt in 2012 following the Egyptian Revolution [JURIST backgrounder]. After only a year in power, Morsi was deposed by the military in July 2013 and criminal charges were first raised [JURIST reports] against him in September of the same year. In August 2014 the Supreme Administrative Court in Egypt banned [JURIST report] the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood, Morsi’s political party, from the country. An Egyptian appeals court acquitted [JURIST report] Morsi’s former prime minister, Hisham Qandil, in July of that year. Morsi’s trial in Cairo was adjourned [JURIST report] in February 2014 after a brief appearance in court. Following the initial charges of “incitement to murder,” Morsi was also charged [JURIST report] with espionage and terrorism in December 2013.