Egypt Upholds Death Sentences For Brotherhood Supporters

June 21, 2014

A court in Egypt court has confirmed death sentences for 183 Muslim Brotherhood supporters accused of a 2013 attack on a police station. 

The banned group's leader, Mohammed Badie was among those whose sentences were upheld on June 21. 

The court had initially sentenced 683 people to death. However on June 21 it acquitted 496 defendants, and commuted death sentences of four defendants to life in prison.

The case stems from an attack on a police station in the southern town of el-Adwa on August 14, which killed one police officer and one civilian.  The charges include murder, joining a terrorist organization, and possession of weapons. 

The ruling can be appealed. Most of the defendants were tried in absentia.

The military-installed government in Egypt has sentenced hundreds of its opponents in widely-criticized mass trials. 
 
Based on reporting by AP, AFP, dpa, and BBC