An Egyptian court sentenced 183 supporters of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood to death on Monday on charges of killing police officers, as authorities continued their crackdown on Islamists.
The sentences were condemned by human rights organisation Amnesty International, which called for them to be quashed.
The men were convicted of playing a role in the killings of 16 policemen in the town of Kardasa in August, 2013 during the upheaval that followed the army's removal of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi. Thirty four were sentenced in absentia.
Egypt has mounted one of the biggest crackdowns in its modern history on the Brotherhood since the political demise of Mr Morsi, the country's first democratically-elected president.
Amnest International said the “unfair trials” were a further sign of Egypt’s disregard for national and international law.
“Today’s death sentences are yet another example of the bias of the Egyptian criminal justice system. These verdicts and sentences must be quashed and all of those convicted should be given a trial that meets international standards of fairness and excludes the death penalty,” said Colm O’Gorman, executive director of Amnesty International Ireland
Thousands of Brotherhood supporters have been arrested and put on mass trials in a campaign which human rights groups say shows the government is systematically repressing opponents.
President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who as army chief toppled Mr Morsi, describes the Brotherhood as a major security threat. The movement says it is committed to peaceful activism.
Reuters