Egypt court overturns convictions against 36 Islamists

An Egyptian court on Wednesday overturned the death and life sentences against 36 Islamists over murder and violence charges, official news agency MENA reported.

The court of cassation, the country's top appeals court, revoked the death and life sentences and ordered a retrial for the 36 defendants, including a top leader of Muslim Brotherhood, Mohamed Badei.

The defendants were accused of storming a police station in the town of al-Idwa in southern Minya province, murdering two police officers and killing eight civilians.

The Lawyers said the defendants were tried swiftly and they were deprived of a fair trial with the attendance of lawyers.

The case dated back to Aug. 14, 2013, the day when the authorities dispersed, in a harsh crackdown, two main camps of the supporters of the ousted Islamist President Mohamed Morsi who was removed by the army in response to mass protest against his one-year rule.

Nearly 1,000 of Morsi's backers were killed in the dispersal operation, and thousands have been jailed.

In the case, 186 defendants received death and life sentences last June. Only 36 of them were in prison, while the remains were handed their sentences in absentia.

The other fled defendants will be retried with different procedures when arrested, the presiding judge, Yahya Khalifa, said.

Hundreds of supporters of Muslim Brotherhood, Morsi's power base, were sentenced to death in swift trials that stirred the international criticism. Endit