Egypt 's former president Mohammed Morsi has been sentenced to 20 years for ordering the arrest and torture of protesters in 2012 . But a court in the country 's capital Cairo acquitted the 63-year-old leader of charges that would have seen him face the death penalty . Fourteen others were convicted on the same charges , with most also sentenced to 20 years in jail . Scroll down for video . Jailed : Egypt 's former president Mohamed Morsi ( pictured at an court appearance in December ) has been sentenced to 20 years for ordering the arrest and torture of protesters in 2012 . But the court cleared the defendants on charges of inciting murder over the deaths of a journalist and two protesters during the December 5 , 2012 clashes outside the presidential palace in Cairo . Defence lawyers said they would launch an appeal against the convictions . Morsi , Egypt 's first freely elected leader , came to power following the 2011 ouster of Hosni Mubarak in a popular uprising . But after just a year in power , Morsi was himself toppled by then-army chief and now President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi following mass street protests . Morsi 's Muslim Brotherhood has been blacklisted and targeted in a government crackdown that has seen hundreds killed and thousands thrown in jail . Other Brotherhood leaders have been sentenced to death and Tuesday 's decision to acquit Morsi on the incitement to murder charge was unexpected . 'This is a surprise ... We were expecting them to be convicted of murder , ' Ramy Ghanem , a lawyer for an anti-Morsi protester who was wounded in the clashes , told AFP . Buses were set ablaze during 2012 clashes between opponents and supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood in the Mediterranean coastal city of Alexandria . 'But the sentences are not bad . We were expecting life in prison , but then 20 years is not very different , ' he said . A life sentence in Egypt is 25 years . Hundreds of Morsi supporters have been sentenced to death in speedy mass trials which the United Nations has called 'unprecedented in recent history ' . Earlier this month , a Cairo court confirmed death sentences for Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Badie and 13 others over protest violence . The Brotherhood had called for protests in support of Morsi on Tuesday . 'The coup commander is exploiting the judiciary , ' it said in a statement ahead of the verdict , referring to Sisi . It said the president was using the courts 'as a weapon in the battle against the popular will and the democratic and revolutionary legitimacy represented by President Mohamed Morsi . ' Morsi is facing two other trials in which he could face the death penalty , including one that sees him accused of spying for foreign powers . Verdicts in those two cases are due on May 16 . Sisi has vowed to 'eradicate ' the Brotherhood , an 85-year-old movement that topped successive polls between Mubarak 's fall and Morsi 's presidential election victory in May 2012 . Supporters and opponents of the Muslim Brotherhood clashed during 2012 street battles in the Mediterranean coastal city of Alexandria . The authorities designated it a 'terrorist group ' in December 2013 , making even verbal expressions of support punishable by stiff jail terms . The crackdown sparked a fierce backlash including from jihadist groups , who have claimed a string of deadly attacks on security forces . Officials say more than 500 police and soldiers have been killed in attacks since Morsi was overthrown . Sisi was elected president in May last year , but he faced no serious challengers and - in a country where the army has been in power for decades - his victory dashed hopes raised by Mubarak 's ouster of a civilian democracy . Sisi 's regime is popular among many Egyptians tired of political turmoil and seeking stability and economic growth . But Sisi has been accused of repression and his crackdown has also targeted secular and liberal activists who spearheaded the 2011 uprising against Mubarak . In November , a court dropped murder charges against Mubarak in his own trial over the deaths of hundreds of protesters in 2011 .
A court in Egypt has sentenced the former leader over abuses of protesters . But he was cleared of charges that would have seen him face death penalty . 14 others convicted on same charges with most also sentenced to 20 years . Defence lawyers said they would launch an appeal against the convictions .