Egyptian court postpones former President Morsi's final verdict on death sentence for jailbreak and espionage charges

Mohamed Morsi was sentenced to death on 16 May

Mohamed Morsi as he is sentenced to death in a Cairo courtroom (AP)

An Egyptian court has postponed the final ruling on a death sentence recommended for former President Mohamed Morsi’s espionage and jailbreak case, it has been reported.

The court has been adjourned until 16 June, when the verdict is expected to be delivered.

Morsi attended court on Tuesday for the hearing on his death sentence while fellow defendants chanted “down, down with the military,” according to Al Jazeera.

The country’s first democratically elected leader was sentenced to death on 16 May but the court referred the case to Egypt’s top Muslim cleric for a conservative opinion – a normal step for all death sentences.

Morsi was handed the death sentence over in connection with a mass prison break during Egypt’s 2011 uprising that eventually brought him to power.

More than 100 others were sentenced to death in connection with the same prison break.

The former leader was deposed in a military coup in July 2013 amid mass street protests against his leadership and has been imprisoned ever since.

He has already been sentenced to 20 years in prison for ordering the arrest and torture of protesters. It was one of several ongoing trials against him.

Additional reporting by agencies