Alwaght- 95 Muslim Brotherhood members in Egypt have been handed down a penalty of life in prison over their alleged role in anti-government protests in 2013.
The Egyptian court meted out the harsh sentences on senior Muslim Brotherhood leaders Mohamed Badie, Mohamed al-Beltagy and Safwat Hegazy and other prominent Brotherhood figures on Saturday.
The verdict was announced at a police academy courthouse on the outskirts of the capital, Cairo.
Egyptian judicial sources say the accused were found guilty of inciting violence and storming a police station during street protests in the Suez Canal city of Port Said more than two years ago. The incident in August 2013 came days after the army ousted Muslim Brotherhood-backed Mohamed Morsi, Egypt’s first democratically-elected president.
Morsi himself was handed the death sentence along with 130 other defendants in June for allegedly orchestrating a 2011 jail break during the uprising that led to the ouster of the country’s former dictator Hosni Mubarak.
Muslim Brotherhood was banned as a terrorist organization in late 2013. Security has deteriorated across the North African country since the ouster of Morsi and the takeover of the ex-military chief Abdul Fattah el Sisi.
The Egyptian government has been cracking down on any opposition since Morsi was overthrown, arresting thousands of people, including Brotherhood leaders and activists.
The UN Human Rights Council has repeatedly expressed concern over the Egyptian security forces’ heavy-handed crackdown and the killing of anti-government protesters in the country.