Egyptian court sentences 296 to prison on 'terror charges' in mass trial

The court in Cairo Wednesday said the defendants attempted the president's assassination twice, including when he was on pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia in 2014.

The court also sentenced 264 other defendants, to three to 15 years in prison, all on terror charges, including militant attacks in the Sinai. Two were acquitted, and one defendant died during the trial, while a minor was referred to another court.

Nearly half of the defendants were tried in absentia. The verdict can be appealed.

Rights groups have repeatedly criticised such mass sentences in Egypt and have called on authorities to ensure fair trials.

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Since President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi took control after ousting Morsi, the authorities have carried out a crackdown on dissidents and Muslim Brotherhood members.

Egypt's courts have sentenced to death or lengthy jail terms hundreds of people after speedy mass trials, including Morsi and several leaders of his Brotherhood movement.

Many have appealed and won retrials but 26 executions have been carried out.

The Brotherhood was outlawed and branded a terrorist organisation in December 2013, just months after Morsi's was removed from power.

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