31 Egyptians get death sentence for killing top prosecutor

Cairo June 17 (IANS) A Cairo criminal court on Saturday sentenced 31 persons to death on charges of involvement in the assassination of Egypt s former attorney general officials said.

Hisham Barakat who was 63 years old when he was appointed attorney general by President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi following a military coup against Mohamed Morsi in July 2013 was assassinated in a June 2015 terror attack Efe news reported.

The 31 men have been charged with crimes including premeditated murder belonging to a terrorist group joining a foreign terror organisation possessing and manufacturing explosives illegally possessing firearms and blades illegally crossing the border and espionage.

The prosecution also accused them of having ties to the Muslim Brotherhood -- considered a terrorist group by the current Egyptian government -- and to the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas.

The ruling is set to be sent to the Egyptian Mufti an Islamic scholar and legal expert although his opinion is non-binding.

The definitive verdict is scheduled for July 22.

--IANS
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