Egypt Court Sentences 4 Muslim Brotherhood Members to Death
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - An Egyptian court on Sunday sentenced four Muslim Brotherhood members to death over killing and violence charges, official news agency MENA reported.
The case, known publicly as "attacks of Muslim Brotherhood headquarters," dated back to July 2013 following the ouster of the former president, Mohamed Mursi, by the then army chief Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in response to mass protests over Mursi's one-year rule.
Pro-Mursi protesters hiding inside the Brotherhood headquarters in Moqattam district in southern Cairo threw Molotov cocktails at Mursi's opponents and shot some protesters dead from inside the building.
The case has been referred to the Grand Mufti, Egypt's highest Sunni Muslim authority for review, but the ruling can be appealed.
Meanwhile, the presiding judge decided to adjourn to Feb. 28 the ruling on another 13 Brotherhood members, including Mohamed Badei, the group's top leader, his two deputies, Khirate al-Shater and Rashad Bayoumy, chief of the Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party Saad al-Kattatni, and Ousamh Yassein who served as youth minister during Mursi's reign.
They were accused of attempted murder against Mursi's opponents, possessing weapon, and inciting murder and violence, Xinhua reported.
Thousands of Brotherhood supporters have been arrested and hundreds sentenced to death in speedy trials since the ouster of Mursi.
Mursi himself has been referred to the criminal court over similar charges in addition to those of espionage and insulting the judiciary.