Morsi supporters attacked opposition protesters outside the presidential palace in December 2012, sparking clashes that killed at least 10 people.
Judge Ahmed Youssef dropped the murder charges against Morsi and said the sentence was instead linked to the “show of force” against protesters and unlawful detentions.
The Cairo Criminal Court issued the verdict as Morsi and other defendants in the case – mostly other Muslim Brotherhood leaders – stood in a soundproof glass cage in a makeshift courtroom at Egypt’s national police academy.
The country’s first freely elected president, Morsi took power after the 2011 overthrow of Hosni Mubarak. Morsi himself was ousted by the army in 2013 and put on trial as the new regime of Abdel Fattah al-Sisi launched a relentless crackdown on the moderate Islamist Muslim Brotherhood.
Hundreds of Brotherhood members have since been sentenced to death and thousands more jailed.
The Muslim Brotherhood issued a statement ahead of the verdict on Tuesday denouncing the judiciary – calling it a tool of repression – and calling for protests.
“The coup commander (Sisi) is exploiting the judiciary as a weapon in the battle against popular will and the democratic and revolutionary legitimacy represented by President Mohamed Morsi,” the statement said.
The Brotherhood called for “non-stop revolutionary marches and demonstrations” starting Tuesday in support of Morsi and demanding his reinstatement.
The Muslim Brotherhood, now blacklisted by Egypt as a “terrorist organisation”, has previously failed to mobilise large numbers for its rallies because of persistent fears amid a continuing crackdown.
Morsi also faces the possible death penalty in connection with two other trials, including one in which he is accused of leaking state secrets to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards. He is also accused of escaping from prison during the widespread protests that eventually ousted Mubarak.
Separate verdicts in those two cases are due on May 16.
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