The Cairo Criminal Court will pronounce the verdict in the case of former president Mohamed Morsi and 35 Muslim Brotherhood senior leaders on 16 May. They will be sentenced in the espionage trial. Others include Supreme Guide Mohamed Badie, his deputies Khairat El-Shater and Mahmoud Ezzat, as well as leaders of the group's political wing Saad Al-Katatni, Mohamed Al-Beltagy and Essam El-Erian. They stand accused of organising "a plot" with the aid of groups including Palestinian Islamist group Hamas and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. They also face charges of disclosing national security secrets, funding terrorism, and coordination with jihadist organisations inside and outside Egypt to execute terrorist operations in the country. Prosecutor General Hisham Barakat had referred the case to court on 19 December 2013. The authorities' reported investigations said the "plot" was planned since 2005 and achieved during the 25 January revolution in 2011, according to state-run newspaper Al-Ahram. The prosecution made its closing statement on last November, arguing that the Muslim Brotherhood used secret tunnels between Egypt and Palestine's Gaza border. The prosecution also uccused the Brotherhood of forming a military group with Hamas, in addition to working with ‘takfiri' groups in Sinai in attempts to overthrow the regime. During the trial session in December, Morsi's lawyer Montaser Al-Zaeat presented alleged leaks by some SCAF members discussing Morsi's imprisonment. He is also currently working to convince the court that Morsi was held in a facility belonging to the Ministry of Interior .
