Sentences from Minya court relate to violence that broke out last August, as part of nationwide unrest after Mohamed Morsi's ouster
An Egyptian court on Thursday sentenced two supporters of ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi to death and 43 others - including a minor - to jail terms from 1 year to life, in several cases relating to violence after Morsi's removal last summer, state-run news agency MENA said.
The Minya court - in Upper Egypt - also acquitted 28 others.
The sessions included a retrial for 23 defendants who were tried in absentia and sentenced to death and life in jail. Defendants in the case in Matay, Minya governorate, faced charges of attacking policemen and torching a police station.
The court also issued verdicts in 6 other cases, all in connection to retribution violence that broke out after the forceful dispersal of two main sit-ins held by Morsi supporters in Cairo and which left hundreds dead.
The same court previously sentenced 529 to death - later upholding the penalty for 37 defendants - and sentenced 492 others to life in prison. One month later, it sentenced 683 defendants to death, later confirming 183 of them.
Since Morsi's ouster, a security crackdown on his supporters has left hundreds killed and tens of thousands detained or facing trials, including the Muslim Brotherhood's top leadership.
The mass trials were criticised by local and international rights groups for hasty procedures.
Source: Ahram Online, August 29, 2014
