16 members of Muslim Brotherhood get life sentences

By Hussein Mahmoud Ragab Elkabany and Ayse Sumeyra Aydogdu

CAIRO, Egypt (AA) - An Egyptian court approved life imprisonment (25 years) for 16 members of Muslim Brotherhood.

The Court of Cassation also ratified three-year jail sentence each for six members in the "rocket cell" judicial case. The members were accused by the Egyptian regime of manufacturing rockets to target public institutions, state TV and radio.

The verdicts are final, said court officials.

Rights groups frequently accuse Egyptian authorities of trying and convicting political opponents on trumped-up criminal charges.

Egyptian officials say all defendants enjoy fair trials and due legal process.

Egypt has been roiled by violence since 2013, when Mohamed Morsi, the country’s first freely elected president and a Muslim Brotherhood leader, was ousted and imprisoned in a bloody military coup.