An Egyptian court confirmed today death sentences for more than 180 Islamists, including Muslim Brotherhood chief Mohamed Badie, after a mass trial that sparked an international outcry.
The court in the central city of Minya had initially sentenced 683 people to death, but today it commuted death sentences of four defendants to life in prison, including two women, and acquitted 496 others, prosecutor Abdel Rahim Abdel Malik told AFP.
Since the army ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July last year, hundreds of his supporters and Badie himself have been sentenced to death in trials roundly criticised by human rights watchdogs.
The 183 Islamists sentenced to death were convicted of involvement in the murder of two policemen and attempted murder of five others in Minya province on August 14, the day police killed hundreds of Morsi's supporters during clashes in Cairo.
They were also found guilty of vandalism, attacking public property, bearing arms and joining illegal organisations, prosecutor Abdel Malik said.
Lawyers said most of those sentenced to death were still on the run.
"The defence lawyers were unable to attend the trial and defend their clients. The court violated the defendants' rights of defence and gave its decision quickly," said one of them, Mohammed Tosson, adding they intended to appeal.
Journalists had also been barred from attending the trial.
The court's decision came after it referred its initial ruling in April to Egypt's top Islamic scholar, as required under the country's legal system.
In March, the same court reduced to life in prison 492 of 529 death sentences handed out to another batch of Morsi supporters.
Outside the court today, families of defendants appeared confused as they tried to understand the details of the verdict, as masked policemen stood guard.
"Allah revealed the truth. Allah acquitted my brother," a man whose brother was one of those acquitted by the court told AFP.
The mass trial comes amid an intense crackdown on Morsi's supporters that has seen more than 1,400 people killed in street clashes with police since his ouster, while over 15,000 have been jailed.
