Egypt overturns death sentences of 14 Islamist militants

It was the court's latest reversal of many of the hundreds of death sentences issued against Islamists - both political activists and militant fighters - after Morsi, a Muslim Brotherhood member, was removed from power. The crackdown on both armed and peaceful opposition had been criticised by Western governments and human rights groups.

The Court of Cassation accepted appeals and ordered retrials of the defendants, who were arrested following an attack on a police station in July 2013.

In all, 23 defendants faced charges of murder of a security official at the police station and the attempted murder of others, as well as assault, rioting, sabotage, and illegal possession of firearms and knives.

Eight of them had been sentenced to death in absentia. The court did not overturn those sentences, but Egyptian law affords automatic retrials to in absentia convictions.

The court also threw out one 10-year prison term in the same case.

The Court of Cassation gave no legal reasons for its reversals of the death sentences but is expected to do so in written form in a few days' time.

In February the court ordered the retrial of 149 people out of 183 on death row, in a similar case where the defendants were accused of killing 14 police officers during an attack on the same police station a month later, in August 2013.

More than 40,000 people were detained after the coup, according to Human Rights Watch, with hundreds sentenced to death in speedy mass trials.

"Torture and ill-treatment at these facilities are routine," HRW said in a report, outlining what it called "flagrant human rights abuses" during the first year in power of Sisi.