An Egyptian court on Thursday sentenced to death the top leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, from which ousted President Mohammed Morsi hails, along with 13 other members and supporters over violence last summer.
The death sentence against the Brotherhood's Supreme Guide Mohammed Badie is the second in less than three months. In addition to Badie, the ruling by the Giza Criminal Court included senior members Mohammed el-Beltagy and Essam el-Arian. The court case is rooted in deadly violence during the massive protests that led to Morsi's July 3 overthrow.
In April Badie was sentenced to death along with more than 680 others over violence in southern Egyptian.
The Brotherhood, once Egypt's most well-organized political movement, is now officially branded a terrorist organization. Many of its top leaders and supporters are jailed and facing multiple charges, mostly linked to incidents of violence during demonstrations demanding the reinstatement of Morsi and decrying the crackdown, which has left hundreds dead and seen thousands jailed.
The state-run Al-Ahram reported that el-Beltagy received the sentence by saying: "slaves of the (military) boots, we are seekers of martyrdom."
