Egyptian judge issues preliminary death sentences to 185 people

185 Muslim Brotherhood supporters were recommended for the death sentence over a Cairo attack that killed 12 policemen.

16:14 03 December 2014

An Egyptian judge has preliminarily sentenced 185 Muslim Brotherhood supporters to death over the attack on the Kerdasa police station on August 14 that left 12 policemen killed.

The preliminary sentence, which was handed down on Tuesday, is subject to a lengthy appeals process. It also goes to the country’s top religious authority for approval.

151 of those sentenced are in custody. The others are being tried in absentia, as confirmed by a judicial source.

The sentence comes days after charges against Hosni Mubarak were dropped by another court. He was accused of killing protesters during the 2011 uprising, which ended his 30-year rule.

After Islamist President Mohamed Mursi was ousted in July last year, Egyptian authorities have managed to arrest thousands of Brotherhood members. Egyptian courts have since sentenced hundreds to death in mass trials that have been condemned by human rights groups.

Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the current president, has steadily rolled back the freedom won in 2011. However, many Egyptians appear willing to tolerate those curbs, seeing them as the price to pay to restore stability and economic growth.