Son of Egypt’s ousted leader sentenced to 1 year

CAIRO — An Egyptian criminal court convicted Wednesday the youngest son of the ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi on charges of drug possession and consumption, sentencing him and a friend to a year in prison, the state news agency reported.

Abdullah Morsi, 20, was not in court when Judge Abdel-Rahman Ayad issued the verdict. Morsi had been released on bail after his arrest in March. The two were also fined $1,400.

Morsi was arrested with a friend after police suspected they were smoking hashish cigarettes on the side of a road on the east edge of Cairo. He had denied the charges.

His family has dismissed the case as an attempt to tarnish their image and as part of a crackdown on Islamists.

His father has been jailed since he was ousted last year by the military following mass protests against him. He is also facing a number of trials on charges that include inciting murder and conspiring with foreign groups to destabilise Egypt.

At least 22,000 have been arrested since the government crackdown on Morsi supporters and Islamists, all pending trials, security officials said.