Egypt Brotherhood supporters face execution

An Egyptian court sentenced on Monday more than 180 supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood, designated a terrorist organization by Egypt, on charges of killing police officers.

Thirty four of the accused were sentenced in absentia, Reuters news agency reported.

The men were implicated in the 2013 clashes in the town of Kerdasa which claimed the lives of 16 policemen. The violence had followed the army's ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Mursi.

Egypt has mounted one of the biggest crackdowns in its modern history on the Brotherhood since the political demise of Mursi, the country’s first democratically-elected president.

Thousands of Brotherhood supporters have been arrested and put on mass trials in a campaign, which human rights groups say shows the government is systematically repressing opponents.

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who as army chief toppled Mursi, describes the Brotherhood as a major security threat.

The movement says it is committed to peaceful activism.

[With Reuters]