An Egyptian court has confirmed a death sentence handed to ousted President Mohammed Morsi over a mass prison break during the 2011 uprising that eventually brought him to power.

The sentence was initially passed in May, but has been confirmed after Egypt’s highest religious figure, the Grand Mufti gave his opinion.

Morsi was also sentenced to life on Tuesday for spying on behalf of Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.

The ruling will automatically be appealed.

Morsi escaped from Wadi Natroun prison in January 2011 and was accused of colluding with foreign militants in a plot to free Islamists during the mass prison breaks.

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