Egyptian court jails 68 Muslim Brotherhood supporters

An Egyptian court sentenced 68 Muslim Brotherhood supporters to jail terms on Tuesday, judicial sources said, in a case related to deadly violence a year ago after the army's ouster of Islamist President Mohamed Mursi.

All were found guilty of killing 30 people and intending to kill others in Cairo on October 6, 2013, when more than 50 people died in clashes across the country between Mursi opponents and supporters.

Judge Mohamed Ali Al-Faqi gave 63 of the defendants 15 years in jail and five others 10 years. 

International and Egyptian rights groups have expressed alarm over an increasingly broad crackdown on dissent by authorities since then-army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi seized power in July 2013.

Thousands of Brotherhood supporters are in jail and the state crackdown over the past year has expanded to include liberal and secular activists who played a leading role in the 2011 uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak.

Tags

Egypt, Muslim Brotherhood, Mohamed Mursi, Ali Al-Faqi, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Hosni Mubarak

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