CAIRO, Sept. 22 (Xinhua) -- Mohammed Mahdi Akef, a former leader of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, died on Friday at the age of 89 after a struggle with illness.
Akef, who served as the supreme guide of the Muslim Brotherhood from January 2004 to January 2010, had been serving a prison sentence before being transferred to hospital in January this year, the official Egyptian daily Al-Ahram reported on its website.
In 2015, Akef was sentenced to life imprisonment along with several other Muslim Brotherhood leaders.
Akef was arrested a day after the ouster of former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in 2013, on the charge of inciting violence outside the group's headquarters in Mokattam.
While in prison, Akef's health deteriorated and was sent to a private hospital after appeals from his family and rights activists.
His prison sentence was being appealed at the time of his death.
The Egyptian government designated the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist group in late 2013.
