An Egyptian court Saturday handed down preliminary death sentences in absentia to 10 Muslim Brotherhood supporters on charges of murder, violence and blocking a road north of Cairo while protesting the ouster president Mohammed Morsi last year, dpa reported. The sentences will now be sent to Egypt's chief Islamic legal authority, the grand mufti, for an advisory opinion. The court will reconvene on July 5 to announce the final verdict. One of the 10 sentenced in absentia is Abdul Rahman al-Barr, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood's top executive office, known as the Guidance Council. On July 5, the judge will also issue verdicts for 38 other defendants in the same case, including the Muslim Brotherhood's head, Mohammed Badie. -- SPA 21:12 LOCAL TIME 18:12 GMT تغريد
