Egypt court sentences one to death for 'terrorism'

CAIRO (AA) – An Egyptian court sentenced one person to death in a retrial on Sunday on charges of forming a "terrorist" group and attacking a church, according to a local legal source.

The Cairo Criminal Court also slapped four people with a life sentence each on similar charges, the source said on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

Sunday's verdict is still subject to appeal.

Egyptian authorities accused the defendants of forming a terrorist group and attacking a church in a Cairo suburb in 2014, in which a policeman was killed.

Last month, Egyptian authorities executed nine young men convicted of assassinating an Egyptian prosecutor-general in 2015 in a car bombing.

The death sentences were carried out despite calls by numerous international rights groups for a stay of execution.

According to estimates by human rights groups, Egyptian authorities have executed 42 people since 2015.