Egypt military court sentences 452 for anti-govt violence after Morsi ouster

Cairo: An Egyptian military court sentenced 452 defendants from three to 25 years in prison and acquitted 54 others over committing anti-government violence following the ouster of former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in 2013. According to news agency MENA on Tuesday, the two cases including a total of 506 defendants date back to August 2013 when a police station and a governorate office in Beheira province, some 130 km north of the capital Cairo, were stormed by Morsi’s furious supporters. This was after security dispersal of pro-Morsi sit-ins in Cairo and Giza left more than 1, 000 killed and thousands more arrested. [caption id=“attachment_2388852” align=“alignleft” width=“380” class=" “] Protesters in Egypt. Representational image. Image courtesy: AP[/caption] The military court in the coastal city of Alexandria on Tuesday sentenced 253 defendants to 25 years in prison, 54 to 15 years, 91 to 10 years, 35 to seven years, 18 to five years and a minor to three years. The 253 sentenced to 25 years have been tried in absentia. Egypt’s newest constitution allows military trial for civilians in crimes related to assaulting military institutions or institutions under the protection of the military. Morsi was removed by the military in early July 2013 after mass protests against his one-year rule and his Muslim Brotherhood group was blacklisted as “terrorist.” Also on Tuesday, the Brotherhood’s general guide Mohamed Badie, along with some prominent group figures, were referred to criminal court over similar charges. Morsi, Badie and hundreds of detained and fleeing Brotherhood members and supporters have been handed appealable death sentences over charges varying from violence, murder, jailbreak and belonging to a terrorist group. IANS