Egypt court jails Muslim Brotherhood chief for life

An Egyptian court on Sunday slapped five people, including the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood group, with life sentences for violence-related charges, according to a local judicial source.

The Cairo Criminal Court sentenced Mohamed Badie and four other people, including Brotherhood leaders Mohamed al-Beltagi and Essam al-Erian, to life in prison, the source said.

The verdict is the latest against Badie, who has been sentenced to death in separate trials since his arrest in 2013.

The court also slapped former supply minister Bassem Ouda with a 15-year jail term and three other people with ten years in prison each, the source said.

The defendants were charged with incitement and acts of violence that took place in 2013 following the ouster of democratically-elected president Mohamed Morsi in a military coup.

Sunday’s verdicts are still subject to appeal.

Egyptian authorities have launched a relentless crackdown on dissent since Morsi’s ouster, killing hundreds and sending thousands behind bars on violence-related charges.