BRUSSELS
The sentencing of Egypt's first democratically elected president, Mohamed Morsi, to 20 years in prison, following his ouster by the army in 2013, has not affected European Union and Egyptian relations.
This is despite Tuesday's condemnation of the verdict from Amnesty International which described it as "a travesty of justice."
European Commission spokeswoman Catherine Ray told reporters in Brussels on Tuesday: "The EU has a strong and constant relation with the Egyptian government on a whole range of issues."
"So at this point in time, (the) EU will continue to have this relation with Egypt on different aspects of our relationship," Ray said.
An Egyptian court found Morsi, along with 12 co-defendants, guilty of inciting the murder of demonstrators during clashes between his supporters and opponents outside eastern Cairo's Ittihadiya presidential palace in December 2012.
Although a total of 11 people – including eight Morsi supporters – were killed in the palace violence, the trial only addressed the death of one reporter and two anti-Morsi demonstrators.
Since Morsi's ouster, the Egyptian authorities have launched a crackdown on dissent that has largely targeted Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood supporters, leaving hundreds dead and thousands behind bars.
Human rights organizations have condemned the Egyptian authorities' moves and the mass sentences handed down to Morsi supporters.
In a statement, Amnesty International described Morsi’s sentencing as “a travesty of justice” and said the Egyptian criminal system appeared to be “completely incapable” of producing fair trials either for the former administration or Brotherhood supporters.
Amnesty had also condemned the execution in early March by the Egyptian authorities of Mahmoud Ramadan, a man convicted of murder in relation to political violence on 5 July 2013 in Alexandria after the ousting of Morsi.
