Muslim Brotherhood leader Badie, 13 others sentenced to death

An Egyptian court on Saturday delivered the death sentence to the chief leader of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group, Mohammed Badie, and 13 other members for inciting murder in the case known as "Rabaa operations room."

The Brotherhood spiritual leader and the other 13 defendants are charged with running an operational room to mobilise group members to target security forces and spread disorder after the dispersal of two major sit-ins in the country's capital Cairo in August, 2013, state-run MENA news agency reported.

Meanwhile, 37 other Brotherhood members have received life imprisonment in the same case, the report said, adding that Saturday's verdict can still be appealed.

On March 16, the Giza Criminal Court in Cairo referred the death sentences of Badie and the 13 other defendants to the Grand Mufti, the country's highest Islamic official, whose opinion was usually considered as a formality.

Since the ouster of former Islamist president Mohamed Morsi by the military in July 2013, the army-backed government has launched a massive security crackdown on his supporters, leaving more than 1,000 dead while thousands of others have been arrested.

The government said the protests were violent as dozens of policemen were shot dead during the dispersal process.

Morsi is now standing trial on various charges, including jailbreak, ordering the killing of protesters, spying and insulting the judiciary.