An Egyptian court has sentenced ten supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood movement to death in absentia on charges of inciting violence and blocking a road last July.
Judge Hassan Fareed on Saturday referred the sentence to the Grand Mufti, the highest Islamic authority in Egypt, a legal requirement usually considered a formality.
The remaining 38 accused in the case, including the Brotherhood’s supreme guide and other senior members, will be sentenced at the next hearing on July 5.
The case is one of several ongoing mass trials of supporters of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood. Under Egyptian law, those sentenced in absentia will have a new trial if they are arrested or surrender to authorities.
