529 Morsi Supporters Sentenced to Death in Egypt

Photo Credit: AFPAn Egyptian court sentenced 529 supporters of deposed Islamist president Mohamed Morsi to death on Monday after just two hearings, in the largest mass sentencing in the country’s modern history.

The shock verdict, which came amid a sweeping crackdown on Morsi’s supporters since his overthrow by the army last July, is likely to be overturned on appeal, legal experts said.

The defendants in the southern province of Minya are part of a larger group of more than 1,200 alleged Islamists accused of killing policemen and rioting on August 14, after police killed hundreds of protesters while dispersing two Cairo protest camps.

Of the 529 defendants sentenced to death, only 153 are in custody.

The rest were tried in their absence and have the right to a retrial if they turn themselves in.

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