Cairo : An Egyptian court has sentenced 10 supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi to 25 years in prison over anti-government protests last year, media reports said.
The verdict was given Saturday, according to MENA news agency.
Morsi’s supporters recently staged nationwide marches to mark the first anniversary of the dispersal of two major pro-Morsi sit-ins in Cairo and Giza which left at least 1,000 killed and thousands others arrested, reported Xinhua.
Confrontation between security forces and protestors across Egypt Thursday left seven people killed including a policeman.
Since Morsi’s removal by the military in July last year, loyalists of the deposed president have been holding constant anti-government protests denouncing his overthrow as “a military coup”.
The Muslim Brotherhood group, from which Morsi hailed, was blacklisted by Egyptian authorities as “a terrorist organization” last December. Its members were also banned by a court ruling in April from running for presidential and parliamentary elections.
Most of Morsi’s loyalists are currently behind the bars, including Morsi himself and the Brotherhood top chief Mohamed Badie, over various charges including inciting violence.
Extremist groups have killed hundreds through several terrorist attacks against police and military personnel and premises since the military ousted Morsi.
Ex-military chief Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, who led Morsi’s ouster following anti-Brotherhood mass protests, was elected in June as Egypt’s new president.