26 people sentenced to death for leading a "terrorist cell" in Egypt

Some 26 people have been sentenced to death after being accused of establishing and leading a “terrorist cell”, a Cairo Criminal Court ruled on Wednesday.

The public prosecutor charged the defendants of “creating and managing a terrorist group, with the aim of limiting people’s freedoms as well as harming national unity and the waterway of the Suez Canal.”

The court referred the defendants’ papers to Egypt’s Grand Mufti to ratify the judgement in accordance with the legal procedures applicable in Egypt and scheduled March 19 for the final verdict after receiving the Grand Mufti’s opinion.