Egypt Court Sentences Muslim Brotherhood Chief Mohammed Badie To 25 Years In Prison

A senior Egyptian leader and head of the Muslim Brotherhood, charged with carrying out an attack on a police station in the southern city of Minya -- about 150 miles from Cairo -- in August last year, was sentenced to 25 years in prison, along with 14 other members of the group, on Monday, according to media reports.

Mohammed Badie, 71, who was appointed as chief of the Muslim Brotherhood in 2010, has already been sentenced to life, which carries a maximum of 25 years in prison in Egypt, in two other cases, and has also been handed down a death sentence, along with 182 others, for inciting violence in which two policemen were killed last August. Badie has also been convicted of the murder of five people and the attempted murder of 100 others during violence that broke out in Giza on July 15, 2013.

The death sentences, which have reportedly been criticized internationally, are subject to appeal.

The Egyptian military, led by Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, which came to power through a coup in July last year, has arrested thousands of members and supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood and sentenced hundreds to death or long prison sentences. The Islamist organization has been outlawed and designated a terrorist organization, forcing many of its leaders to flee the country to avoid arrest.

Mohammed Morsi, Egypt’s deposed president and a leading member of the Muslim Brotherhood, is also on trial on charges of espionage and inciting violence. If convicted, he could face the death penalty under the country’s laws.

Since Morsi’s removal, nearly 1,400 people have been killed as part of a government crackdown on supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood, leading to harsh criticism of Sisi's administration from several international groups over alleged human rights violations in the country.