Egypt court sentences 13 anti-regime opponents to death

By Sayed Fathi

CAIRO (AA) - An Egyptian court sentenced Saturday 13 anti-regime opponents to death after a retrial for allegedly killing a police officer in 2013.

The court referred the 13 defendants to the grand mufti, Egypt’s highest religious authority, to explore the possibility of handing down death sentences against them, a judicial source said on condition of anonymity due to restrictions to speaking to media.

The court will confirm the verdict on Sept. 24.

The 13 defendants are part of 23 people accused of killing a senior police officer in the Giza village of Kerdasa in September 2013, a few weeks after the military unseated elected president Mohamed Morsi in a military coup.

In 2014, an Egyptian court sentenced 12 defendants to death in the case, but a higher court ordered a retrial in April of this year after an appeal from the defendants.

Since the 2013 coup, Egyptian authorities have launched a relentless crackdown on supporters of Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood group, killing hundreds and detaining thousands.