Libyan court sentences 23 Daesh/ISIS members to death

By Moataz Wanees

TRIPOLI, Libya (AA) - A Libyan court in the northwestern city of Misrata has sentenced 23 people to death for membership in the Daesh/ISIS terrorist group.

The court also slapped 14 others with life sentences on the same charges, the attorney general’s office said in a statement.

Another person was sentenced to 12 years in prison, six to 10 years, one to five years and six others to three years. Five were acquitted and three others died before their case came to trial, according to the statement.

The defendants were convicted of multiple counts, including the beheading of 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians in the coastal city of Sirte in 2015.

Hundreds of alleged former Daesh/ISIS militants remain jailed in Libyan prisons, many of whom are still awaiting trial.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara