3 defendants sentenced to death in Ansar Al-Sharia case

CAIRO – 14 October 2018: The Cairo Criminal Court issued a death sentence on Sunday, Oct. 14 to three defendants out of the 23 who were convicted of terrorism-related charges in the 2014 case known in the media as the Ansar Al-Sharia case.

The court sentenced four to life, seven to 15 years of rigorous imprisonment and acquitted nine others.

Previously, late Public Prosecutor, Hisham Barakat, referred 23 defendants to the Criminal Court for establishing the terrorist group “Ansar Al-Sharia” that embraces extremist ideas, aiming to change the regime by force and carry out attacks against citizens, police and the Armed Forces.

On August 12, the Criminal Court sentenced the three defendants to death and transferred the verdicts to the country's grand mufti for a legally required but non-binding consultation. The court set October 14 for issuing its final verdict.