Egypt court upholds death sentence of 20 Brotherhood members

CAIRO - An Egyptian court confirmed on Monday death sentence against 20 members of Muslim Brotherhood group over storming a police station and killing 14 policemen, officials news agency MENA reported.

The Court of Cassation, Egypt's top court that gives final verdicts, upheld death verdicts against 20 militants, mostly loyalists and members of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group of former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi.

The defendants stormed the main police station in Kerdasa district, a stronghold of the Muslim Brotherhood at that time, of Giza province in mid-August 2013, killing 17 people including 14 policemen.

The assault, known as "Kerdasa massacre," took place more than a month following Morsi's military removal on July 3, 2013 and shortly after a massive security crackdown on two pro-Morsi sit-ins on Aug. 14, 2013, in Cairo and Giza, which left hundreds dead and thousands more arrested.

The case originally involves 188 defendants including fugitives. In February 2015, the court sentenced 183 of them to death and a minor to 10 years in jail. After appeals, later in February 2016, the Court of Cassation ordered the retrial of 156 of them.

In April 2017, the criminal court recommended death penalty for 20 of them and referred their case documents to the Grand Mufti, the country's interpreter of religious law, to get his religious opinion on their execution. He later approved.

They appealed the death sentence later, but the court of cassation rejected their appeal on Monday.

Most Brotherhood leaders, members and supporters, including Morsi himself and the Brotherhood spiritual guide Mohamed Badie, are currently jailed. Many of them have received appealable death sentences and life imprisonments over various charges varying from inciting violence and murder to espionage and jailbreak.

Morsi is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence over inciting deadly clashes between his supporters and opponents in late 2012 and a 25-year jail term over leaking classified documents to Qatar.