An Egyptian court sentenced on Saturday former President Mohammed Morsi to death for his involvement in mass prison breaks in 2011.

The former president had already been sentenced to 20 years in prison for ordering the arrest and torture of protesters during his time in office.

The conviction will be sent to the highest religious authority in Egypt, the Grand Mufti, who will give his opinion whether the sentence can be executed.

The sentence is subject to appeal even if the Grand Mufti upholds it, the BBC reports

Morsi became the first democratically elected president of Egypt in 2012, but protests erupted less than a year after his election after he issued a decree granting himself far-reaching powers.

Following mass street protests against his rule, Morsi was ousted from power by the military in 2013.

Subsequently, Egyptian authorities banned his movement Muslim Brotherhood and detained thousands of his supporters.

Morsi was one of more than 100 defendants to be sentenced to death for their participation in mass prison breaks during the 2011 uprising against the then Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

The supporters of Morsi have identified the trials against him as politically motivated and aimed at legitimising a coup, while the former president has rejected the authority of the courts.