On Monday morning an Egyptian court sentenced 529 Mohammed Morsi supporters to death. Unsurprisingly they are expected to appeal. The majority of the defendants were tried in their absence and just 16 were acquitted.

This group of 529 are part of a 1200 strong bunch that are awaiting trial. Most of them are members of the Muslim Brotherhood and some of them are quite senior members. The 529 have been charged with murdering the deputy commander of the Matay district police station and general attacks on people and property.

So what’s brought this beef storm on?

Mohammed Morsi (pictured below) was Egypt’s first civilian and first Islamist president and a representative for the Muslim Brotherhood. His reign lasted just 13 months before he was ousted by the military in July 2013.

Mr Morsi’s reign was tempestuous because many believed he allowed the Islamists to monopolise the country and basically take over. He himself had come to power at the head of an uprising and some of the people who helped put him in power didn’t think he’d done what he said he was going to do. His focus was religious and ethical rather than political.

It all started to kick off in November 2012 when Mr Morsi decided to personally extend his own power. He was desperate to push through pro-Islamist and anti freedom of speech legislation…

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