In this May 8, 2014 file photo, Egypt’s ousted Islamist President Mohammed Morsi sits in a defendant cage in the Police Academy courthouse in Cairo, Egypt. AP FILE PHOTO
UNITED NATIONS—Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is raising “serious concern” at the death sentences against ousted Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi and 105 others.
READ: Court sentences Egypt’s ousted president to death
UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said Monday that Ban reaffirmed the United Nations’ position against the death penalty.
An Egyptian court sentenced Morsi, who led the now outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, and the others to death Saturday over a mass prison break during the 2011 uprising that ousted longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak.
Haq said Ban will monitor the appeals process very closely.
“The secretary-general underscores the importance of all parties taking steps to promote — and avoiding those that could further undermine — peace, stability and the rule of law in the region,” Haq said.