Defence lawyers say an Egyptian judge has sentenced to death more than 680 alleged supporters of the country’s ousted president Mohammed Morsy, over acts of violence and the murder of policemen, in the latest mass trial in Egypt that included the Muslim Brotherhood’s spiritual leader.
Attorney Ahmed Hefni told reporters outside the court in the southern city of Minya on Monday that the death sentences first have to be approved by Egypt’s mufti , the top Islamic official, in a step that is usually considered a formality.
The case is linked to deadly riots that erupted in Minya and elsewhere in Egypt after security forces violently disbanded sit-ins held by Muslim Brotherhood supporters in Cairo last August.
Published - April 28, 2014 01:46 pm IST