Cairo - An Egyptian court sentenced at least 80 supporters of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood to life in prison on Monday on charges ranging from murder to hindering police and blocking streets, judicial sources said.
The ruling was made by a criminal court in the Nile Delta town of Mansoura, where the incidents took place.
Mansoura, like most Egyptian cities, witnessed a wave of violence and demonstrations after the army's ouster of elected Islamist President Mohamed Morsi last July following protests against his rule.
One judicial source said 83 Muslim Brotherhood supporters were sentenced to life in prison while 62 others were given jail sentences ranging from 3 to 10 years in jail.
Another judicial source put the total number of those sentenced to life in prison at 80, including some convicted for killing a taxi driver during a pro-Morsi protest in Mansoura in December.
Egypt has unleashed a fierce crackdown against Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood group, the state's oldest and most organised movement, killing hundreds of its supporters and jailing thousands of its leaders and sympathisers.
An Egyptian court in the southern city of Minya last Saturday confirmed a mass death sentence ruling against nearly 200 Muslim Brotherhood supporters, including the group's leader Mohamed Badie, in a case that drew harsh criticism from world powers and human rights groups. - Reuters