Egypt court sentences 2 Morsi supporters to death over violence

An Egyptian court sentenced on Tuesday two supporters of former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi to death and handed 20 others, including six fugitives, 25-year jail terms over committing acts of violence following Morsi's removal in July 2013.

Cairo Criminal Court convicted the defendants, mostly loyalists of Morsi's now-outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group, of violence, vandalism, murder and attempted murder against anti-Morsi protesters near Tahrir Square in downtown Cairo after the deadly security dispersal of pro-Morsi sit-ins.

A minor was also sentenced to 10 years in prison in the same case.

Morsi was overthrown by the military in early July 2013 in response to mass protests against his controversial one-year rule. Later security crackdown on his loyalists in mid-August left about 1,000 of them dead and thousands more arrested.

Morsi himself is currently serving a recently confirmed 20-year prison sentence over inciting clashes between his supporters and opponents outside a presidential palace in late 2012 that left 10 people dead.

Since Morsi's removal, Egypt has been facing a rising wave of terrorism that left hundreds of police and military men dead, mostly claimed by a Sinai-based militant group loyal to the Islamic State (IS) regional terrorist group. Endit