Egypt reduces jail terms for 30 convicted of ‘violence’

By Jamal Abdel Moez

CAIRO (AA) - A military court Wednesday reduced prison terms handed down earlier against 30 civilians convicted of committing violent acts following Egypt’s 2013 military coup, according to a local legal source.

"The Assiut military court has reduced the jail terms of 30 civilians from 25 years to 10," Khaled al-Koumi, a member of the legal defense team, said in a press statement.

The case dates back four years -- to the period immediately after Egypt’s 2013 military coup -- when 33 people were charged with membership in an “outlawed group”, incitement to violence, and damaging public and private property.

The court later acquitted three of the defendants due to a lack of evidence.

Egypt has been dogged by turmoil since the army ousted Mohamed Morsi, the country's first freely elected president and a Muslim Brotherhood leader, in mid-2013.

Since Morsi’s ouster, the Egyptian authorities have waged a relentless crackdown on his supporters and members of his Muslim Brotherhood group, killing hundreds and throwing thousands behind bars.