- Confirmed death sentences for Muslim Brotherhood leader and 13 others
- American-Egyptian citizen sentenced to life in prison by Cairo court
- Found guilty of 'plotting unrest' after ousting of president Morsi in 2013
Published:
12:47 GMT, 11 April 2015
|
Updated:
17:02 GMT, 11 April 2015255
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A leader of the now outlawed Muslim Brotherhood has had his death sentence confirmed by a Cairo court this weekend.
Mohamed
Badie and 13 other defendants were handed their sentences as 37 people,
including an American-Egyptian citizen were jailed for life.
The
defendants found guilty of plotting unrest from their headquarters in a
sprawling Cairo protest camp in the months after the military overthrew
Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July 2013.
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Upheld: Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood leader
Mohamed Badie, pictured at a trial earlier this year, has had his death
sentence confirmed by a Cairo judge
Judge
Mohamed Nagy Shehata, known for his harsh rulings in cases involving
the Muslim Brotherhood, also sentenced two Islamists who have fled the
country to death.
Among those
sentenced to life in prison is Mohamed Soltan, an American-Egyptian man
who has been on a hunger strike over his detention for more than 14
months.
Soltan's
family called for Mohamed's immediate release in a statement after the
verdict, charging that there was no evidence against him.
His father Salah Soltan was among the 14 detainees sentenced to death.
The
U.S. embassy in Cairo said in a statement that it was 'gravely
concerned' about Mohamed Soltan and would 'continue to monitor his case
closely and to provide him with all possible support.'
Sentenced: Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood
leader Badie (front) and his fellow defendants were found guilty of
plotting unrest in the months after the military overthrew Islamist
president Mohamed Morsi in July 2013
Ruling: Egyptian Judge Mohammed Nagi Shehata reads the verdicts in a cases in Cairo, on Saturday
The
rulings can be appealed before the Court of Cassation, which has
overturned dozens of other death sentences, including against Badie.
So
far Egypt has executed one Islamist sentenced to death after Morsi's
overthrow, following his conviction of involvement in the murder of a
youth during violent protests in July 2013.
Judge
Shehata read out a Koranic verse that stipulates amputation and
crucifixion for outlaws, before rendering his verdict on Saturday.
At
a previous session, he had sought the opinion of the country's mufti,
the Islamic legal authority who has an advisory role under Egyptian law,
on the death sentences.
Known
as the 'Rabaa Operations Room' case, the prosecution accused the
defendants of organising months of unrest and protests against the
ouster of Morsi, a senior Brotherhood figure himself now on trial.
The
Rabaa al-Adawiya protest camp in Cairo was dispersed by police on
August 14, 2013 in a 12-hour operation that left hundreds of protesters
and about 10 policemen dead.
Supporters of Egypt's ousted president
Mohamed Morsi stand their ground as Egyptian security forces move in to
disperse them by force from the Rabaa al-Adawiya protest camp in Cairo
in August 2013
Mohamed
Soltan was shot in the arm during the dispersal, and he was arrested
days later as police hunted down Islamist activists who had fled the
protest camp.
Police
moved in to disperse the camp after weeks of failed European and
US-brokered negotiations with the Brotherhood, who publicly insisted on
Morsi's return.
The
Islamist was the country's first freely elected president and he ruled
only for a year before the army toppled him, spurred by massive protests
demanding his resignation.
President
Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the former army chief who toppled Morsi and then
won an election, has pledged to eradicate the Brotherhood.
The
government has blacklisted the movement as a terrorist organisation
amid a spike in militant attacks that have killed dozens of policemen
and soldiers.
The
deadliest attacks have been claimed by jihadists in the Sinai Peninsula
and in Cairo, and the Brotherhood insists it is committed to
non-violence.
But
decapitated and driven underground, the Islamist movement is believed
to have radicalised with members adopting militant tactics against
policemen.
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