CAIRO: A criminal court motioned Sunday a death sentence against eight defendants allegedly affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood group over involvement in riots that took place in Upper Egypt’s Minya governorate in 2013.
The court referred the papers of the eight defendants to Egypt’s Grand Mufti for religious advice. Referring cases to Mufti is customary in Egyptian judiciary system, in cases of death sentences, but his opinion is not legally binding.
In the same case, the court adjourned the trial of 111 others to September 4.
In this case, the defendants face several charges include storming and torching a police station, killing a police sergeant and burning a prosecution administrative building and Samalut Primary Court following the 2013 dispersal of Rabaa al-Adawiya and Al-Nahda sit-ins.
During the previous hearing, the defense argued prosecution investigations are “void.”
In December 2013, the Muslim Brotherhood group was officially designated as a terrorist group.
Since then, the government has mounted a crackdown against the group’s members and leaders; most of them are either serving prison terms or fled the country.