Egypt court sentences 11 people to death for ‘terrorism’

An Egyptian court sentenced 11 people to death Sunday on accusations they joined a “terrorist organization” and attempted to kill two police officers, a judicial official said.

The court sentenced 14 others to life in prison -- 25 years in Egypt -- and a juvenile to 10 years in prison, the official said.

They were accused of participating in “terrorist operations” and attempting to kill two officers in 2014, and of possession and manufacturing explosive material.

Of the defendants, 21 were in court, including seven of those sentenced to death. Five were sentenced in absentia: the juvenile and four of the defendants who were sentenced to death.

The defendants were accused of taking part in violence that followed the July 2013 military ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi.

On August 14 that year security forces violently dispersed two protest camps in Cairo demanding Morsi be reinstated, leaving more than 700 people dead.

Egyptian courts have since sentenced hundreds of Morsi supporters to death, but many have appealed and won new trials.

Morsi and other top figures of his Muslim Brotherhood have also faced trial.

After initially focusing on Morsi’s supporters, the crackdown later expanded to include other members of the opposition.