10 Brotherhood leaders sentenced to death

Ten leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood were sentenced to death by an Egyptian court on Saturday on charges of inciting violence in the Qalioubiya province last year, a judicial source said.

The defendants were convicted of blocking roads, inciting violence and attacking security forces on July 22 - some three weeks after the ouster of elected president Mohamed Morsi by the military last year.

Two people had been killed and 35 others injured in the violence.

One of the senior Brotherhood leader Abdel-Rahman al-Bar, also known as the Brotherhood mufti, was also condemned to death in absentia.

The court also slapped

Also 37 Brotherhood leaders, including Supreme Guide Mohamed Badie, were slapped with life sentences each and another defendant with a 3-year jail term by the court, the judicial source said.

The army-backed interim government late last year designated the Brotherhood as a terrorist organization.

Thousands of Brotherhood members have been arrested on charges of incitement-to-violence and joining a "terrorist" group.

The defendants, however, deny the accusations, which they describe as "politically motivated".