2 killed, 4 injured during protests in Al-Marg

Two people were killed and four others injured on Friday during clashes between protesters and residents of Al-Marg, a district east of Cairo, reported the state-owned newspaper Al-Ahram.

Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated protests took place across the country on Friday, many of them devolving into violence as police forcefully dispersed the demonstrators.

In Al-Marg, the protesters, who Al-Ahram identified as affiliated with the banned Muslim Brotherhood group, were demonstrating against the death sentences handed down to 14 Brotherhood leaders on Thursday. Demonstrators were also calling for the release of political detainees.

The group’s Supreme Guide Mohamed Badie as well as high-ranking figures Essam al-Erian, Mohamed al-Beltagy, Bassem Ouda and others were sentenced to death for killing 10 people and injuring 20 more in clashes around Istiqama Mosque in Giza last summer. The case has been referred to the Grand Mufti to approve the death sentences.

On Saturday, the Minya Criminal Court will finalize its verdict in another case implicating Badie and 682 others, who were all sentenced to death after being found guilty of killing a police officer.  The court had referred the case to the Grand Mufti to approve the death sentences, but his decision is not legally binding.

The sentence is widely expected to be upheld, though the defendants still have the right to appeal the ruling.