CAIRO — An Egyptian court on Sunday sentenced
to death 10 members of the outlawed
Muslim Brotherhood group found guilty of
violence against security officers in 2015, a judicial source said.
اضافة اعلان
The case will now be referred to the Grand
Mufti,
Egypt's top theological authority — a formality in death penalty cases —
before the court meets on June 19 to confirm the sentences.
Of the 10 men, nine were in custody while
one was sentenced in absentia, the source said.
They were accused of multiple incidents of
violence against police in 2015 — a period that saw a spike in attacks
targeting security forces.
Egypt outlawed the Islamist Muslim
Brotherhood group in 2013 and designated it a terrorist organization, following
the military ouster of former president Mohamed Morsi.
General-turned-president
Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi,
who led Morsi's ouster, has since led a crackdown on the group, jailing
thousands including its top leader as well as its rank and file.
Morsi died in custody in June 2019 after
falling ill during a court hearing.
Cairo has handed down death sentences or
long jail terms after mass trials that have drawn condemnation from the UN.
Capital punishment for civilian convicts in
Egypt, the Arab world's most populous country, is carried out by hanging.
Egypt carried out the third-highest number
of known executions in the world last year, after China and Iran, according to
Amnesty International.
Morsi's rule was marked by deep divisions in
Egyptian society, a crippling economic crisis, and often-deadly opposition
protests.
The Muslim Brotherhood, which was
established in 1928, has touted itself as the main opposition movement in Egypt
despite decades of repression. It has consistently denied any link to the
violence the government accuses it of.
It has inspired spin-off movements and
political parties across the Muslim world.
Read more Region and World
.jpg)
.jpg)
