CAIRO: An Egyptian court sentenced 40 backers of ousted Islamist president Mohamed Mursi to up to 15 years in jail yesterday for violence including torching churches, a judicial source said.
Followers of Mursi have been the target of a relentless crackdown by the authorities since he was deposed in July 2013 by ex-army chief and now President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi.
The criminal court in Assiut in southern Egypt sentenced two defendants to 15 years each, while the others were given jail terms ranging from one year to 10, the source said.
They were accused of taking part in acts of violence in Assiut last year during which five churches, several police stations and a number of shops were set on fire. There were no reported casualties.
The court acquitted 61 others standing trial in the same case, the source said.AFP
