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Mursi killed the spirit of the Spring; he must pay

We do not know if Mursi and his fellow bandits will face the gallows or the firing squad, and when, but one thing is certain: he killed a peaceful, popular movement for democratic reforms in the region, and spat on the aspirations of youth.

Deposed Egyptian president Mohammed Mursi may not be a killer but he failed his country and people by killing a chance for true democracy after protests swept the region. The former president and his party, the Muslim Brotherhood, were responsible for hijacking the gains of the Arab Spring and indulging in political excesses that bordered on extremism which threatened the unity of the larger Arab world.

On Tuesday, an Egyptian court sentenced the former president to death on charges of killing, kidnapping and other related offences during a 2011 mass jail break. Brotherhood ideologue Mohamed Badie and four other leaders of the group were also handed capital punishments, while 80 others were sentenced to death in absentia.

The Muslim Brotherhood have blood on their hands for murdering the spirit of a popular movement fanned by youth. When a peaceful uprising unseated long-serving president Hosni Mubarak in 2011, Mursi and his well-organised band of brothers seized their chance and played to the political gallery. The lack of a serious opposition helped them in their quest for credibility in the eyes of the average Egyptian voter, who was craving for a better life, and rights, after three decades under a dictator who ruled with an iron fist.

Under Mubarak, the Brotherhood went underground; but after his departure, they emerged from the shadows like wolves. They were ready for the political spoils which the popular movement, which was high on idealism, handed to them on a platter. Mursi and his Brotherhood were not just threats to the stability of Egypt, they were also actively supporting the export of their brand of terror-tainted ideology to countries, which only served to turn brother against brother. Terror groups reared their heads and hoped to join the mainstream political class, which was not acceptable to most governments. Mursi, therefore, had to go, and he did, with the Egyptian military dislodging him and his cronies in 2013.

We do not know if Mursi and his fellow bandits will face the gallows or the firing squad, and when, but one thing is certain: he killed a peaceful, popular movement for democratic reforms in the region, and spat on the aspirations of youth. For that, he must pay.