An Egyptian court has sentenced 30 supporters of ousted president, Mohamed Morsi, to more than three years in prison as military-installed government continues cracking down on dissidents.
Judicial sources said on Sunday the defendants were found guilty of violent acts during a protest against Morsi’s trial in February. Officials also accused them of membership in a “terrorist group,” referring to the Muslim Brotherhood movement.
The ruling is the latest in a relentless government crackdown targeting Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood and their supporters.
On April 16, a court sentenced around 120 Brotherhood supporters to three years in jail. The defendants were accused of violating a controversial law against street protests.
Last month, another court sentenced more than five hundred of Morsi supporters to death. That verdict drew harsh criticisms from rights groups and the international community.
Figures show Egypt’s military-backed government has jailed nearly 16,000 people over the past few months.
Despite Cairo’s crackdown, the Brotherhood says the group remains committed to peaceful resistance against the military-installed interim government.
Egypt has been experiencing unrelenting violence since Morsi was ousted on July 3, 2013.
Several international bodies and the UN Human Rights Council have expressed concern over the Egyptian security forces’ heavy-handed crackdown and the killing of peaceful anti-government protesters.
According to the UK-based rights group, Amnesty International, 1,400 people have been killed in the political violence since Morsi’s ouster, “most of them due to excessive force used by security forces.”
MN/MAM
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