Egypt court sentences 6 to death over 2013 violence

Egypt’s highest appellate court on Saturday confirmed the death penalty for six people in connection with violence in the wake of the ouster of former President Mohamed Morsi in 2013.

The Court of Cassation upheld the death sentences against the six after being convicted of storming a police station in Minya in central Egypt and killing a security official, a judicial source said on condition of anonymity because he was unauthorized to speak to media.

The court also commuted the death sentences handed down against six other defendants to life in prison, the source said.

The appellate court also confirmed life sentences against 59 defendants and cleared 47 other people in the same case, according to the source.

Saturday’s verdicts are final and cannot be appealed.

Egypt was roiled by violence when the military deposed Mohamed Morsi, the country’s first freely elected president, in a military coup in 2013.

Following Morsi’s overthrow, Egyptian authorities launched a harsh crackdown on dissent, killing hundreds and sending thousands behind bars on charges of committing violence.