Former Egyptian president Moham­med Morsi reacts behind bars at a court in the outskirts of Cairo after being sentenced to death along with more than 100 other members of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Mohammed Morsi, Egypt’s first demo­crati­cally elected president, was sentenced to death last week, together with more than 100 others, over a mass prison break during the 2011 uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak and later brought Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood to power.

This latest mass sentencing to death is bad news for Egypt; it will divide the country even further, it is a giant step backwards and it risks convincing Islamists that their only option now is to resort to violence against the regime headed by President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

The Egyptian court’s decision also presents a massive challenge to the US, which provides the Egyptian government with $1.3 billion in military aid each year, and the European Union, which has traditionally enjoyed close ties to Cairo, both of whom have condemned the death sentence verdict.

Egypt is an extremely important regional actor, has tremendous clout in the Arab and Muslim world, is a leading player in the fight against jihadism, terrorism and Islamist extremism, has the largest population in the Arab world (83 million, of which 10 per cent are Christians) and has a peace treaty with Israel. Egypt, therefore, cannot be ignored or isolated and engagement will have to continue.

The EU said in a statement that Morsi’s death penalty stemmed from a flawed trial and was “cruel and inhumane”. Federica Mogherini, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy, said: “The court decision to seek the death penalty was taken at the end of a mass trial that was not in line with Egypt’s obligations under international law.”

The US expressed “deep concern” after the verdict was announced. “We have consistently spoken out against the practice of mass trials and sentences, which are conducted in a manner that is inconsistent with Egypt’s international obligations and the rule of law,” a State Department official said. Amnesty International, meanwhile, said the court’s decision was “a charade based on null and void procedures”.

Morsi had already been sentenced last month to 20 years in prison in another case, on charges connected to the killing of demonstrators in Cairo in December 2012. He is also awaiting sentencing in another case in which it has been alleged he passed on State secrets to foreign groups.

I have always maintained that Morsi, who was elected president in June 2012, almost a year-and-a-half after Mubarak’s ouster, lost a golden opportunity to unite his country, to show that Islamist parties are indeed compatible with democracy, and to carry out much needed political and economic reforms.

The Brotherhood simply can’t be made to disappear

Unfortunately, Morsi, who admittedly inherited a very difficult situation and had to deal with a civil service and a military staffed by Mubarak-era loyalists, was not a successful president. He brought about very little reform, concentrated power in the hands of the Muslim Brotherhood, mishandled the economy, failed to tackle a surge in crime, granted himself far-reaching powers and drafted a Constitution that was far too Islamist-leaning – despite massive opposition from liberals, secularists and the Coptic Church. Furthermore, the Brotherhood’s inability to compromise demonstrated its immaturity as a political force – it was simply not well prepared or suited to govern Egypt.

Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has strengthened his grip on power. Photos: Reuters

Morsi’s popularity soon nosedived and millions took to the streets to protest against his government. In July 2013 Morsi was overthrown by the military, headed by army chief and defence minister Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who was then elected president in May 2014 with “97 per cent of the vote”. Sisi soon cracked down on the Muslim Brotherhood, outlawed the organisation, imprisoned hundreds of its followers and leaders and sentenced many of them to death.

Sadly, but predictably, terrorist attacks in Egypt have surged over the past two years, signalling that many opponents of Sisi’s government feel that violence is now their only option left to express opposition to the regime. Soon after Morsi’s sentence was announced, three judges were shot dead in Sinai.

Egypt has long had a problem with jihadist terrorist organisations, some of them linked to al-Qaeda, and although the Muslim Brotherhood is officially opposed to violence and terrorism, the possibility of Morsi supporters resorting to acts of terror cannot be excluded.

After the death sentences were announced, the Muslim Brotherhood called on its followers to “escalate revolutionary defiance activities every day until together we defeat the junta and topple the illegitimate military coup regime.” Whether this means to protest in the streets (which is now illegal in Egypt) or to take up arms is not clear.

Egypt’s grand mufti, the most senior religious authority for Sunni Muslims, now has to approve the death sentences imposed on Morsi and the other members of the Muslim Brotherhood. Nobody knows what the grand mufti will decide, and what pressure he will be under, but executing Morsi would undoubtedly turn him into a martyr and leave millions of Egyptians disillusioned and cynical about democracy.

There is no doubt that Sisi has brought about stability in Egypt, and that the majority of Egyptians probably support him, but it is doubtful this stability will last for very long.

It is also true that Morsi was a hopeless president but this does not mean he should be sentenced to death, nor that his political organisation should be banned and its leaders and followers persecuted, imprisoned and given death sentences.

There are no easy options in dealing with Egypt, which plays a vital role in the region and which has tremendous economic potential. However, both the US (which has a lot of clout over Egypt) and the EU need to exert more pressure on Cairo to relax its measures against the Muslim Brotherhood and to repeal the numerous politically-motivated death sentences that have been imposed by the courts.

The Muslim Brotherhood, for all its faults, is an integral part of Egypt’s political fabric and is the main organisation representing political Islam, a major force in the Arab world that needs to be part of the democratic process (like in Tunisia), not driven underground.

It is true that its brief stint in office was disappointing and that many of its supporters will no doubt now have no faith in democracy, but every effort must be made to convince President Sisi that the Brotherhood, which got 13 million votes in the 2012 presidential election, simply just can’t be made to disappear.