The Giza Criminal Court sentenced three supporters of Islamist former president Mohamed Morsi to death on violence-related charges in the case widely known in the media as the “Imbaba events” trial.
The case goes back to the fourth anniversary of the 25 January Revolution when clashes erupted between security forces and Muslim Brotherhood supporters in a number of Cairo districts. The clashes left dozens dead and more than 100 injured.
The convicted were charged with weapon possession, showing force, and belonging to a terrorist organisation. One person was killed during the clashes in Imbaba.
The three were tried and sentenced in absentia; they cannot appeal the verdict unless they turn themselves in.
In the previous session on 9 November, the court referred their decision to Egypt’s Grand Mufti to advise on their death sentences, and set 13 December as a date to pronounce the verdict.
The court was presided over by Judge Nagi Shehata, who has handed mass death sentences to hundreds of Muslim Brotherhood members in the past two years. He heads one of six special judiciary circuits dedicated to terrorism and violent crimes.
