Egypt: court refers Muslim Brotherhood guide death sentence to Grand Mufti 

The Egyptian First Circuit Court of Terrorism headed by judge Muhammad Al-Saeed Al-Sherbiny has referred the Supreme Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood, Muhammad Badie, and seven others to the Grand Mufti for his opinion on the death sentence given to them for allegedly killing a police officer and others. The court set 20 September as the date to pronounce the final verdict in the case, which includes another 70 defendants.

They are accused of killing Sharif Al-Sibai and others during the violent incidents that took place in Al-Azhar and the conference hall in the city.

The defence lawyers argued that the defendants are in fact the victims who lost sons and brothers during the events in question. The public prosecution team, they pointed out, did not put forward accusations against the Interior Ministry and its leadership, despite the existence of video footage showing police officers shooting live bullets and killing the defendants’ relatives.

The defence team also argued that the public prosecution was politically motivated and even refused to record the deaths of the victims from the defendants’ families.

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