An Egyptian court on Saturday declared the death sentences of 37 defendants, including one of the country’s most high-profile militants, on terrorism-related charges.
The men are among more than 200 defendants accused of carrying out more than 50 militant attacks that included killing high-ranking police officers and bombings that targeted the Egyptian capital’s police headquarters.
The charges also include a 2013 assassination attempt on the Egyptian interior minister.
The ruling on the sentencing is set for Mar. 2. The presiding judge may decide independently of the Mufti.
Customarily all death sentences in Egypt are sent to the Grand Mufti for his office’s advice on whether the ruling is consistent with religious law.
The Cairo Criminal Court said the defendants were charged with belonging to a local affiliate of the Islamic State group spearheading an insurgency in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula.
Egypt has been fighting for years militants in the restive north Sinai Peninsula and the vast Western Desert.
Those militants have been part of an Islamic insurgency spearheaded by the IS affiliate.
The insurgency however gained strength after the 2013 military overthrow of a freely elected but divisive Muslim Brotherhood president.
Egypt has granted police forces and courts sweeping powers in response to Islamic militant attacks.
Human rights observers say the crackdown has resulted in an abandonment of due process and violations of international law.
