Leading Muslim Brotherhood figures sentenced to life in prison for involvement in 2013 clashes

Cairo Criminal Court sentenced several leading Muslim Brotherhood figures to life in prison on Wednesday and acquitted several others, in a case related to clashes that broke out in front of the Muslim Brotherhood headquarters in 2013.

Brotherhood Supreme Guide Mohamed Badie, his deputies Khairat al-Shater and Rashad al-Bayoumi, as well as Brotherhood members Abdel Rehim Mohamed Abdel Rehim, Mahmoud Ahmed Abu Zeid and Mostafa Abdel Azim Fahmy, were sentenced to life imprisonment. Former parliamentary speaker Saad al-Katatny, Freedom and Justice Party secretary general Mohamed al-Beltagy and party deputy Essam al-Erian were acquitted, as were Brotherhood members Ayman Hodhod, Osama Yassin and Hossam al-Shahat. Charges against former Brotherhood Supreme Guide Mohamed Mahdi Akef were dropped following his death.

The case dates back to July 2013, when protesters stormed the headquarters of the Muslim Brotherhood in the Cairo district of Mokattam, leading to the death of nine people and the injury of more than 90.

The defendants faced a range of charges, including attempted murder, possession of weapons and joining an illegal organization.

A total of 18 defendants, including five fugitives, were tried as part of the case. In February 2015, a criminal court sentenced four defendants to death and 14 others to life.

Thirteen defendants appealed the sentence before the Court of Cassation, which accepted the appeal in January 2016 and ordered a retrial.