An Egyptian court on Monday recommended the death sentence for 683 alleged Islamists including Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Badie,
Seeking the death penalty for Mohamed Badie, the Brotherhood’s general guide, is certain to raise tension in Egypt, which has been gripped by turmoil since the army removed the Brotherhood from power last year.
The same court also reversed 492 death sentences out of 529 it passed in March, commuting most of the death sentences to life in prison, meanwhile the death sentence of the remaining 37 others were finalised.
The biggest trials in Egypt’s modern history have reinforced fears among human rights groups that the military-backed government and anti-Islamist judges are bent on crushing dissent.