Egypt to put 75 people to death for demonstrating

On Saturday, 75 people were sentenced to death by an Egyptian court for participating in a 2013 demonstration in support of deposed former president Mohamed Morsi, state-run news agency Ahram Online has reported.

The cases have been referred to the Grand Mufti – the country’s highest official of religious law – for a final decision, according to the publication. According to Egyptian law, before death sentences are carried out, a religious opinion on the matter must be issued by the Grand Mufti. His opinion is rarely ignored despite being officially nonbinding.

Defendants in the case include prominent members of the Muslim Brotherhood, who were arrested and tried for participating in a sit-in in Cairo to protest the removal of Morsi – the country’s first democratically elected leader and a former member of the brotherhood.

Protests surrounding Morsi’s removal culminated in mass violence when current President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s security forces used automatic weapons, armoured personnel carriers and military bulldozers to deal with demonstrators.

A 2014 report by Human Rights Watch found at least 817 people were killed in the violence.