Egypt sentences Brotherhood top leader, 13 senior members to death

An Egyptian court on Thursday sentenced Mohamed Badei, a leader of the blacklisted Muslim Brotherhood, and 13 of the group's leading members to death over charges of inciting violence outside a mosque in Giza, official news agency MENA reported.
The verdict was referred to the Grand Mufti, the country's highest Islamic official whose opinion is usually considered a formality. The final verdict, which still can be appealed, will be issued in August 30.
Among the defendants were Muslim Brotherhood senior member Mohamed al-Beltagi, former lawmaker Essam al-Eryan and Brotherhood- oriented preacher Safwat Hegazi.
The accused were convicted of killing 10 people and wounding 20 others during the violenct attacks.
This is the third time that Badei has been handed a death sentence. He was also on a list of 683 pro-Brotherhood defendants who received mass death sentences in late April from an Upper Egyptian court, and on June 13 over similar charges.
In a separate case, an Upper Egypt-based Sohag Court on Thursday sentenced 20 Brotherhood members life in prison over violence, civil disobedience, assaulting state institutions, crippling public transportation, in addition to causing public disorder.
Since the ouster of former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi by the military last July, the interim leadership has launched a massive security crackdown on his supporters and affiliates, leaving more than 1,000 killed and thousands others arrested.
Morsi is now standing trial over charges including jailbreak, ordering the killing of protesters, spying and insulting the judiciary.